A-Infos (en) Italy, FAI, Umanita Nova #11-26 - Speed Slows Us Down. In the Vortex of Information Flow (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

The communication era, along with the concept of the Global Village, is 
frequently touted as the pinnacle of information diffusion, offering 
unprecedented access to a vast array of knowledge. Unlike our 
predecessors, who lived in an environment characterized by limited 
information availability, we have an abundance of easily accessible 
data. ---- However, even in times before the advent of computers and the 
internet, the paradox "too much information equals no information" was 
well-known. The excessive amount of available data can hinder our 
ability to locate relevant information, generating a sense of overwhelm 
and decision paralysis, particularly when it comes to making important 
decisions. This information overload can lead to frustration and have 
negative effects on our cognitive abilities, affecting our way of 
thinking, learning, and perceiving reality.

The "speed" factor further exacerbates this paradox. Despite being 
accustomed to dealing with a wealth of information, we often fail to 
realize how its speed of dissemination affects our relationship with it. 
While computers surpass our capabilities in certain tasks, speed itself 
can be an obstacle and even a blocking factor. Anyone who has searched 
the Internet knows that the results often far exceed our ability to 
process them.
The information revolution, which has also radically transformed the 
communications sector, has made an immense amount of information 
available, and at an increasingly rapid rate. Major news sites are 
constantly updated with real-time content and sometimes feature 
timelines that illustrate the minute-by-minute evolution of a 
significant event. The speed of news dissemination is considered 
essential to maintaining users' attention and interest. One important 
statistic that can be deduced from server reports is the average time a 
user spends on a specific web page. A longer time spent on a page 
corresponds to greater exposure to advertising.

When information is transmitted at slower speeds, it remains manageable, 
within certain limits. However, as speed increases, we find ourselves 
immersed in a kind of temporal vortex, constantly bombarded by a 
relentless flow of new information. This phenomenon can instantly render 
newly acquired information obsolete.

Speed also has a significant impact when we encounter contradictions. 
Analyzing rapidly transmitted contradictory data is nearly impossible. 
We are easily influenced by the first data we receive, whether correct 
or incorrect, simply because it reaches our brain first. Speed poses a 
significant obstacle to fact checking, a process that requires time to 
distinguish useful information from worthless information.
Another negative effect is the influence that speed has on our 
decision-making process, causing us to shift from a reflective to a 
reactive approach. Without sufficient time for rational processing, a 
gut response is likely to prevail. While this reaction may be 
appropriate in emergency situations, such as the sudden need to brake to 
avoid a pedestrian, it is not necessarily the optimal solution in other 
contexts. The human brain, in fact, is more complex than an AI algorithm 
and processes information at variable speeds. Even if we are able to 
read a text quickly, the process of comprehension, verification, and 
memorization takes longer than the computer system that presented it.

We live in an era characterized by a relentless and rapid flow of a 
considerable amount of information, some of which is junk, making its 
effective processing increasingly difficult. The natural reaction would 
be to disconnect and devote oneself to more rewarding activities, rather 
than endlessly watching the news scroll by on a screen. This choice may 
be acceptable for individuals with little interest in cultivating 
interpersonal relationships or contributing to social change. In other 
cases, it is possible to adopt individual and collective strategies to 
mitigate the damage caused by the excessive speed of the information flow.

You can devote more time to reading, preferably in print, books, and 
in-depth articles on topics of interest, resisting the temptation to 
immediately conduct online research following a curiosity sparked by 
reading.
You can, for one or more days a week, abstain from checking your email, 
consulting your usual news sites, accessing your favorite social media, 
and turning off phone notifications. Although this is a complex and 
demanding undertaking, it is feasible to significantly reduce the number 
of information sources you use. Given the impossibility of reading 
everything, you should favor transparent sources that publicly correct 
any errors, prioritize in-depth analysis over "breaking news," and 
verify information before publication.

When dealing with a relevant but controversial topic, it is advisable to 
dedicate time to methodically and systematically exploring positions 
that are not immediately convincing, in order to avoid finding yourself 
in a situation of indecision between unclear alternatives.

One of the most widespread and persistent myths of the digital age is 
that of "multitasking," or the supposed ability to perform multiple 
tasks simultaneously. In the context of information, however, it is 
essential to focus attention on a single source at a time. Therefore, it 
is inadvisable to keep the television on or listen to a podcast while 
reading.

Even more complex, but equally important, would be to create collective 
environments that foster the slow circulation of information. It would 
also be useful to create discussion groups focused on in-depth analysis 
of specific topics, rather than the compulsive exchange of links, memes, 
and comments on the latest news.

Similarly, it would be necessary to develop networks that allow for the 
construction of collective "fact-checking" processes, not exclusively 
dependent on official websites, in order to overcome individual 
limitations and form a sort of "collective intelligence" to avoid 
drowning in the stormy sea of information.

Pepsy

https://umanitanova.org/la-velocita-che-ci-rallenta-nel-vortice-del-flusso-informativo/
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