The Negative Psychological Effects of Information Overload

Abstract

Information overload (IO) is a state in which Information is beyond an individual's ability to accept, process, and respond. The human brain is limited to information processing capacity; when the input and output of Information mismatch, the individual will feel overwhelmed by tons of Information, resulting in anxiety, depression, and out of controlled psychological state. The idea of information overload has a long history. As early as the last century, it was applied by many scholars in enterprise management. The main consequence of information overload is the decline of decision-making quality and efficiency; decision-makers often need to consume more time and cognitive resources to deal with the task. In addition, the impact of information overload on mental health is often mentioned. Especially in the Internet era, people can receive more Information in a day than those who lived a hundred years ago combined in a lifetime. Massive amounts of instant Information build up to a state of life that requires a constant response; prolonged exposure to information overload can lead to personal stress, depression, and social media fatigue. It can be seen that information overload not only hurts people's work but also harms their physical and psychological health. Therefore, this paper will systematically describe the negative impact of information overload on individuals, especially psychological health, and provide some feasible suggestions.