We live in a world flooded with information, where the question of data has gone from being a useful resource to an unstoppable digital deluge. From smartphones to smart fridges, we’re constantly bombarded by digital input, leaving many of us feeling mentally overloaded. This article explores the growing phenomenon of data anxiety, its impact on our well-being and productivity, and what we can do to take back control.
Data Storage – Then and Now
“Too much data. Data is everywhere. The overwhelming flood of digital data”. We hear these phrases every day!
Ancient humans stored information in cave paintings, such as those found in the Lascaux cave. As humanity evolved, information was stored on stone, then on paper with the invention of writing, and later in printed books. For thousands of years, books were the primary means of storing information.
Then along came the computer. The advent of the digital age should not be taken lightly. Digital data storage has become the norm and has changed the way we think about information and how it is created, analyzed, and stored. Digital storage is obviously more efficient and convenient space-wise than storing archives of paper documents.
It is estimated that we generate over 140 billion messages on WhatsApp every day. In addition, 2.6 million videos are uploaded to YouTube every day, for a total of 518,400 hours. About 100 million people use the Instagram Stories feature every day. Statista predicts that in 2025 we will hold 175 zettabytes (ZB) of data. To understand this number, we can convert it to terabytes (TB): 175 ZB = 175,000,000,000 TB. Too many zeros! By 2035, this number is expected to reach 2,142 ZB. That’s more than a tenfold increase in just a decade - a data explosion that highlights just how fast our digital footprint is growing.
The Side Effects of Data Overload
The demand for data centers is growing. However, in addition to the technical side, there is a human factor to consider. As human beings, we are bombarded with data from all directions every second: laptops, phones, smart TVs, smart watches, smart lights and even kitchen appliances. This is the Internet of Things.
We have easy access to everything we need. The Internet allows us to work, learn and connect from anywhere, whether we're at home, in the Maldives or atop the Himalayas. But is this good? We are beginning to notice changes that may signal a digital information overdose.
For example, nomophobia – “no mobile phone phobia” - refers to the fear of being without a smartphone and is becoming widespread as our phones have become extensions of our hands. Checking our phones 200 times a day on average has become a norm. In fact, you can even measure your smartphone addiction to understand the extent to which your life is dependent on this gadget.
Studies show the dark side of this over-dependence, with negative effects on sleep, work-life balance, increased FOMO (fear of missing out) and social comparison pressure. Researchers talk about digital stress, technostress and digital overload, focusing mainly on digital platforms and social media. However, the impact of the data explosion is becoming another challenge in this new digital landscape. One study on published books shows an increase in word frequency for anxiety, depression and digitalization over the past 50 years with a significant correlation between the frequency of words related to anxiety and digitization. The impact of this shift is being felt at the individual level.
Lost in a Sea of Data and Digital Information
No one really understands how much data we individually create, share and consume on a daily basis, (at least, I haven't heard of a tracker that does this yet!). We also don't know how many resources, including energy, are needed to produce, maintain and store this data we “craft” daily as individuals. I expect the tech innovators will figure out this issue soon.
What we do know is that all this data around us is stressing us out. Every day we see new information, people are creating new content and more streams of news. Improved resources become available, new reports, new articles, including those on how to use data to live a better life.
But we are overwhelmed by all the data, including the accumulated digital piles of personal data on dozens of storage solutions (think about your study files, endless drafts, photos, notes, random images saved, downloaded articles we were supposed to read 10 years ago, our archived information from undergraduate courses, 10 backups of an important novel project and many other things). Organizing and maintaining these virtual mountains of data is stressful and overwhelming. According to one study, people would rather read a history book than analyze their personal data!
Data Literacy Skills – a Must-Have
The same attitude and anxiety come into play when we deal with work data. It can be even more stressful. We struggle with how to read, analyze, use and especially act upon data because no one has been trained to deal with this amount of data.
One solution is organized data literacy training that helps everyone deal with this problem and learn how to explore, understand and communicate with data in a meaningful, intelligent way.
In a world inundated with digital data, everyone should be a data person. We don't really have a choice. We need to develop a culture of data literacy, including machine learning, AI and data science. It is like learning a language that everyone will need to speak. We have to put in the effort and invest the time, but once we are data-fluent, it becomes second nature and will be used almost intuitively.
The earlier we start investing in data skills, the easier our lives will be. Educational institutions need to create more data analytics courses and integrate more data literacy elements into existing courses so that students are exposed to analyzing data in various contexts.
Mountains of Personal Data
But what about our mountains of personal data? We are bombarded with emails, WhatsApp messages, news stories, podcasts and notifications. Today we have no excuse for forgetting a birthday. And we get quickly addicted to feeds on our social media. Why is that? Our brains like novelty, but when novelty is unlimited, things spiral out of control. As it tries to process all that information, the brain demands more and more new stimuli, which leads to increased stress (cortisol), confusion, frustration and anxiety.
By data anxiety, I don't just mean issues like data security or privacy, or worrying that your data analysis is wrong. It's about the overwhelming amount of information we deal with every day and the stress it causes.
How are we supposed to deal with such a massive amount of information? When data is raw, unorganized and constantly pouring in, it can be suffocating. Digital technology and data are developing much faster than our brains can process. This is a relatively new problem that is rewiring our brains. The feeling of mental overload is, alas, unavoidable. Coping with it is possible, however.
Craft Your Data Offload Strategy
There is even an official "Information Overload Day" every year on October 20, when we’re supposed to take a break from consuming information. Indeed, one logical solution is to limit the amount of time we spend on stimuli that create a dopamine hit, such as checking social media or email. Information is addictive and we need to curb the urge.
In addition to this obvious step, one way to deal with the massive amounts of data we have is to turn to data visualization tools. Creating dashboards or a “second brain” using AI tools can be a good way to deal with the real-time data that is piling up on your digital shelves. Our brain loves visuals; we are much better and faster at perceiving visual information, and it seems that our brain is wired to make sense of the world based on images.
Another remedy is to watch your words and files. Try to optimize your digital flows and reduce redundant flows of digital communication and dozens of emails with the same “files attached”. Store files on the cloud and share a link.
We need to take care of ourselves for our own wellbeing. Our computers can handle complex data, and AI helps fill in our knowledge gaps and achieve greater efficiency. But often this leads to even more work and stress, fueled by the relentless pursuit of productivity. Self-care extends to the virtual world too.
In fact, our brains only need essential information for survival, not all possible information. Maybe it's time to delete your archive of non-essential files. Or at least delete duplicates if you are the type of person who usually makes ten backups. In that case, less can be more. After clearing out some of your digital folders, emails and files, data anxiety decreases and energy returns. It’s like decluttering your wardrobe, attic or garage. It feels good to keep data (and other things) under control and make them work for you.
"Gen Z is drinking data from a digital firehose." I bet we're all under that info-jet. It’s time to learn how to manage it.
