Reasons for Taking a Break from the Online World Part I

Introduction and the Infodemic Era

As of now we are entering into a world of Schrodinger’s COVID- is COVID still serious, should we continue locking down, or do we move on with our lives? Well, I guess it mostly depends on who decides to look into the box, but nonetheless we’re in a precarious position.

After two years of all of this madness I can’t help but feel exhausted and want to move on with life. That doesn’t mean that I stop covering COVID-related topics, but that there’s plenty more out there in the world that might be worth looking into. Many people may not feel the same; doing so may be seen as allowing the bureaucrats to run scotch-free as all of the horrors are allowed to dissipate into the ether.

That leaves me in a strange position, one in which I feel both exhausted but also understanding of many people’s fears. What’s even more concerning is the degree to which even those who may be considered mainstream COVID detractors may be pushing fear and inducing even further social anxiety. The recent Dr. Ardis hysteria is a prime example of how to rile people up and create mass psychosis (and yes, I do believe that would be a proper term to use with respect to ardent supporters of the snake venom theory who are not evaluating the actual veracity of Ardis’ claims).

Because of these recent occurrences I’m thinking many people need some time to unwind and learn to properly reassess themselves.

With that, I have provided 3 aspects worth examining within the context of your own life. Part I will be released today and Part II will be released tomorrow.

I want for you to examine these 3 aspects with respect to your own life. If what’s discussed sounds concerning and relatable, maybe it’s worth considering taking a break.

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The Emergence of an Infodemic

We may argue about whether we have been living in a pandemic for the past two years, but there’s no doubt that we are living in a new world ravaged by what’s called an infodemic¹. Infodemic is a portmanteau of “information” and “pandemic” and as a combination of these two words it describes how we are living in a world massively inundated with information of all sorts, whether accurate or not.

The term is derived from a Washington Post journalist named David Rothkopf who used it in relation to the 2003 SARS epidemic, although he elaborated on the intent of his use of the word to include a more broad meaning²:

What exactly do I mean by the "infodemic"? A few facts, mixed with fear, speculation and rumor, amplified and relayed swiftly worldwide by modern information technologies, have affected national and international economies, politics and even security in ways that are utterly disproportionate with the root realities. It is a phenomenon we have seen with greater frequency in recent years—not only in our reaction to SARS, for example, but also in our response to terrorism and even to relatively minor occurrences such as shark sightings.
— David Rothkopf, The Washington Post, 11 May 2003

We may consider the advent of the internet to be a godsend to us, and under most circumstances it has. However, the internet’s ability to provide instantaneous information means that we can quickly become overwhelmed with the amount of information we can immediately assess.

Even now, when I try to find science articles I may type in a few buzzwords, pull up many of the articles I immediately find and can quickly be overwhelmed with dozens of articles with up to 20 pages each.

With social media becoming a dominant architect of our social interactions it has provided us even a more immediate, monumental level of information. Twitter and Tik Tok allow users to upload tiny, bite-size bits of videos that are easier to digest. Consider that Twitter may allow up two 2-minute videos and a user can easily watch 15 videos in the time they may watch one show on television.

But just like someone who continuously snacks on empty calories sourced from processed foods, social media doesn’t provide one the ability to contain actual sustenance in the form of information. As Rothkopf alluded to in his remarks, the inundation of information may take rare, exceptional occurrences and blow them up into commonalities.

This can be common in such circumstances as school shootings, which are far more rare than we would otherwise be led to believe if it were not for 24 hour news outlets and social media³. Steven Picker addresses these concerns in his book Enlightenment Now⁴ in which he argues that things are much better for us now than they were every before- counter to what the media may suggest.

Of course, COVID has allowed the word infodemic to reemerge from a nearly 15 year hiatus. Remember the images that first came out of Wuhan which sparked the initial outbreak of mass hysteria and panic across the globe? Irrespective of whether we considered those fears to be warranted, we can’t argue that the massive level of information coming out in early 2020 clouded people’s ability to think critically and properly make a risk/benefit assessment- there’s a reason why we all went for the toilet paper when the pandemic first began. Remember that CNN’s case and death tally was rightfully criticized for serving as a constant reminder to remain fearful and hysteric. One has to wonder if there really would have been a pandemic were it not for the excessive messaging from the media.

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Prior to COVID I never read Ray Bradbury’s famous work Fahrenheit 451. From what I gathered from other people’s synopsis I assumed that the theme of the book was censorship illustrated through the burning of books. However, Ray Bradbury himself argued that the real message was that of a social critique against mass media consumption. I’ll save my assessment for a later time, but after finally reading the book for myself I can assert that Bradbury’s argument is a far better analysis of these themes.

The citizens of Bradbury’s world drown themselves in noise to the point they require sleeping aids to help them sleep at night- overdosing is not uncommon in this world. The main character, Guy Montag, even has a heated argument with his wife and her friends, and when he inquires about the ongoing war, the friends believe the war will be over soon based on the accounts reported by the news (and if you have read the book you know the actual outcome). Bradbury’s world is not much different than what we are experiencing now. It’s one in which modern technology has produced a social divide in critical thinking and discerning capabilities. It’s one where someone can- improperly- assume that the information they find online can be taken at face value. It’s the emergence of massive media consumption with nothing of intellectually nutritious value.

Whatever may come of COVID, the plague of infodemia will remain, and the downstream ramifications can be extremely damaging.

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Things to Consider

So consider whether you are being bombarded with news or information. Do you believe you can properly discern what is being thrown your way, or does the amount of information feel completely excessive? Understand that the way that information is presented to us is changing, and if you are finding that you are being overwhelmed by how much information is out there it may be worth considering stepping away for some time.

Become a more discerning individual. Examine some of the news and information you find online including on social media platforms and even on Substack. Do they appeal to your logic centers or your emotional centers? If it’s the latter, is the intent to rile you up and feel more anxious or fearful? Even if the information is factual, constant consumption of depressing, morose, or anxiety-inducing information can have a toxic effect on one’s well-being. If you are at the point where all of this information leads to negative thoughts and emotions, then it may be worth limiting the amount of exposure to said information. More is not always better, especially when it comes with a cost to our own well-being.

1. Although infodemic refers to a general concept of information overload, infodemic has been used most recently to refer to the dissemination of massive amounts of COVID “misinformation”. As such, the term has been misappropriate and used to target people whose information strays from the mainstream narrative. Keep this in mind when trying to find information about infodemic that isn’t heavily bathed in media bias. Just to add even more to this level of bias, the WHO and many institutions have created initiatives to target the rampant level of COVID “infodemic”.

2. This quote was taken from Merriam-Webster’s website where it lists “infodemic” as a word to look out for. Keep this in mind as this may not be a fully accurate quote: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/words-were-watching-infodemic-meaning

3. Muschert, G., & Schildkraut, J.  School Shootings in the Media. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology. From https://oxfordre.com/criminology/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264079.001.0001/acrefore-9780190264079-e-106.

4. I’ll admit that I did not finish reading his book- actually, it was the audiobook. Many of these books that came immediately after Trump’s election always found it necessary to include some aspect of Charlottesville into their books. There’s only so many references to Charlottesville you can take before it becomes obnoxious. I do hope to return to the book at some point although my interpretations are from the first 1/3-1/2 of the book.