I was a hapless victim of information overload.
I wasn’t allowed on the net when I was growing up, and the first time I actually had a proper, up-to-date computer was when I came to Perth to study. It was also the first time I had the internet all to myself. Being lonely and out of place in a foreign land, the net was my first and last line of refuge, especially when everyone I was close to here returned overseas for the school holidays, and I was stuck here all alone. The joys of going to an international school and yet being Perth-based.
It was then that I was introduced to blogging and the wonders of the big wide net. Brand new ways of connecting to strangers and reaching into places all over the world were being open to me. I was finding many blogs of kindred spirits, as well as websites that allowed me to share my interests and develop my passions.
And that was also the year that the massive tsunami struck. Overnight, the tragedy had spurted the growth of blogging, where form met function and new media found its place in the brand new world.
By that time, the sheer amount of time I spent on the net trying to process torrents of information was already getting to me. In the end, the inevitable happened. I suffered internet burnout.
Over the last couple of years, I’ve tried not to let that happen again, and have been much more selective with the information I process. This following is how I’ve learnt to deal with information overload:
