A January survey of anxiety by the American Psychological Association said stress levels are at a 10-year high, in part because of information overload. One group at ASU is trying to understand the effects.
Future Tense is an Arizona State University think tank studying technology’s role in our lives. Joey Eschrich is assistant director.
“You can’t get away from this stuff, you know. You might not think about technology very much in your life, but it does affect your life, even if you’re trying to avoid it,” he said.
The sheer amount of information available can limit our ability to thoughtfully process information and cause stress, that we can’t ignore the information.
“So, it’s not like you can really opt out completely, I don’t think. It’s really hard to do that,” he said.
Eschrich said the rapid pace of technological change has unexpected consequences on health. He said the same internet infrastructure that connects us is also used to monitor us.
“You know some people who initially bought into the internet as a tool of political liberation and empowerment are somewhat skeptical of it now and kind of feel like maybe they have to unplug and disconnect in order to get around all of this new sophisticated surveillance and control,” he said.
Eschrich says his team is trying to understand the balance of power between individuals, corporations, the state, and where the internet comes in as a power structure of its own. The group was in Mexico City last week discussing how far reaching the effects may be.
