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Abstract

Information overload can best be understood as a contingent occurrence. Its presence or absence is a matter of point of view and emphasis. Its existence must of necessity be determined by the point of view of the person or group who is in a position to experience it. Moreover, the consequences of information overload-its power or potential to be problematic-also emerge from the perspective of those who are in a position to experience it. The causes and consequences of this phenomenon assume greater overall weight for information theorists and professionals who are in a position to mitigate information overload. Concem with maintaining access to all manifestations of recorded information keeps library and information scholars and professionals aware of assorted factors considered indicative of information overload. As a result, the topic has been sufficiently addressed in our literature, but like descriptions of information overload itself, the literature is speculative and its conclusions amorphous. Findings can be best introduced collectively by saying that they are like the phenomenon itself-multifaceted-and what you conclude depends an your standpoint and selective focus. Throughout the article, a mixture of arguments will be reviewed and reframed in ways useful for understanding the experience of information overload. Definitions or descriptions of information overload may be inconsistent, but they are frequently presented against a backdrop of concem about the intersection of information, economics, and culture. Some evaluation of these three elements is usually in the forefront of conversations about whether or not we have moved from an industrial society to an information society. Such discussions often cite increases in types of information (more articles, books, and advertisements, e.g.) and means of transmitting it (information and communication technologies, such as television, personal computers, and cellular telephones) as evidence that we have moved from an industrial to an information age. Innovation, diffusion, and interconnectedness of information and communication technology make it obvious to some that people and organizations find the exchange of information essential in both personal and professional life. Certainly where there is a surfeit of information in concert with myriad means and occasions of receiving it, overload is axiomatic. Information overload is therefore presumed to be an indicator or byproduct of postmodern society.