The Reaction Compulsion

One side effect of the information firehose that is the web is that we consume content at lighting speed. We digest very little of it.

Akin to wolfing down a bag of donuts because it’s your diet cheat day without tasting even one of them, we’ve gone into hyperdrive with the way we proudly amass blog subscriptions, books, ebooks, videos, online courses, statistics, bookmarks…

We voraciously dive into posts, fly through them in about 30 seconds, pick out the highlights, think we must know what it’s all about, and dive into the comments with gusto, brandishing our two cents as if they were the last two pieces of copper on the planet. We tweet things we haven’t read. We review books we’ve barely skimmed. We contribute to online lynch mobs and tote our virtual pitchforks with pride, with barely a fact check among us.

Might we just slow down? Just for a moment?
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Whew.

Why is it that we can’t be perfectly happy with finding one book that really makes us think? That moves us and inspires us, and then actually spend the time to act on what we’re feeling and thinking?

I’m so happy to find a blog post that gives me pause, and that stuns me into that oh-so-rare commodity on the web: silence. (Yes, yes, you rapier wit, you. There’s irony in my writing this post. I get it. Carry on.)

And so often, I read through comments on posts and realize so clearly that we as readers have systematically extracted the Cliff’s Notes, and commented for the sake of it, often as I watch the point the author was truly trying to make – and not unclearly – go whizzing right past most folks’ heads.

Why are we doing this to each other?

For as much as we discuss the quality over quantity issue, I’d love us to exercise that more. Pay some homage to good content by giving it time to percolate. And rather than devouring a book about automotive repair and presume to tell others – frequently, mind you – then how to fix their cars, perhaps we could take a bit of what we learn and quietly but diligently figure out how to fix our own car first.

I’m going to do it myself, even, because I don’t have enough room in my head for half of what I find. I’m going to be content to let most of it go in favor of a few things that I can truly apply. Sometimes, the power in a simple, clear, and straightforward idea can keep me busy for days, show me whole new avenues and perspective I hadn’t considered.

And perhaps one good idea in action just might trump hundreds of others that fly by at the speed of light, lost in a status update, never to be thought of again.

I’m going to go settle in for a while, and savor the tidbits I’ve found.

You?

image credit: ell brown

Tagged as: content, Information overload, Social media