Data Smog is a 1997 book by journalist David Shenk and published by HarperCollins. It addresses the author's ideas on how the information technology revolution would shape the world, and how the large amount of data available on the Internet would make it more difficult to sift through and separate fact from fiction.[1][2][3]
 | |
| Author | David Shenk |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
Publication date | 1997 |
This article consists almost entirely of a plot summary. (August 2024) |
Argument of the book
editAccording to Data Smog, with the advance of technology, we have been able to progress in terms of society, economy, and even health. Communication is instantaneous, knowledge is abundant, and as humans we try to keep up with this expansion of data that continues to accumulate from around the world.
However, it is the overwhelming amount of information that is defined as data smog; "this unexpected, unwelcome part of our atmosphere, an expression for the noxious muck and druck of the Information age."[4] The wealth of information is harming some because of sheer amount of it and rate of production: "The sheer volume of information which many of us are exposed to every day may actually impair our performance and add stress to our lives."[5] In fact, according to statistics provided by Shenk, "In 1971 the average American was targeted by at least 560 daily advertising messages. Twenty years later, that number has risen six fold, to 3,000 messages per day."[4]
It is argued that "Just as fat has replaced starvation as this nation’s number one dietary concern, information overload has replaced information scarcity as an important new emotional, social, and political problem."[4] As per David Lewis, PhD in psychology, this attempt at consuming the majority of data, the result is what he calls "information fatigue syndrome."[6] This term refers to the data smog that we encounter daily that ultimately interferes with our sleep, concentration, and even affecting our immune systems.[6]
According to clinical psychologist Michelle Weil "the problems stem from people’s overuse or misuse of technologies and from technology’s ineffective presentation of information, researchers are finding."[6]
Neologism
editIn 2004, Shenk's original term "data smog" was added to the Oxford English Dictionary[7]
References
edit- ^ Levinson, Martin H. (1997). "Review of Data Smog: Surviving the Information Glut". ETC: A Review of General Semantics. 54 (4): 501–503. ISSN 0014-164X. JSTOR 42579804.
- ^ Rosenzweig, Roy (1999). Cairncross, Frances; Dyson, Esther; Shenk, David; Hudson, David (eds.). "Live Free or Die? Death, Life, Survival, and Sobriety on the Information Superhighway". American Quarterly. 51 (1): 160–174. doi:10.1353/aq.1999.0005. ISSN 0003-0678. JSTOR 30041637.
- ^ Goodwin, Brent Stuart (1999). "Review of Data Smog: Surviving the Information Glut". Naval War College Review. 52 (1): 161–162. ISSN 0028-1484. JSTOR 44638267.
- ^ a b c Bucy, Eric P. (2005). Living in the Information Age: A New Media Reader. In Shenk, David, The First Law of Data Smog (pp. 159). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
- ^ About.com Medical Review Board. (2003). Coping with "Data Smog". Retrieved March 4, 2007, www.About.com Web site: http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/computerstuff/a/datasmog.htm Archived 2008-10-11 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c Murray, Bridget. (1998). Data smog: newest culprit in brain drain. Retrieved March 4, 2007, www.apa.org: VOLUME 29, NUMBER 3 Web site: http://www.apa.org/monitor/mar98/smog.html
- ^ Rick Thompson, Writing for Broadcast Journalists, Routledge, 2005