A Billion Gigabytes?

I’m Not Crazy

Overwork makes for restless sleep. Ecclesiastes 5:3, THE MESSAGE

Am I making too much of culture’s bigger-better-more-faster craze? I didn’t think so, but I wanted verification. “The world is now producing nearly two exabytes of new and unique information per year,” writes Kevin A. Miller, author of Surviving Information Overload. “Don’t feel bad if you don’t know what an exabyte is. No one does. It’s a new term, one they had to coin for a billion gigabytes.” Miller maintains that “there are 260,000 billboards, 11,520 newspapers, 11,556 periodicals, 27,000 video outlets, 40,000 new book titles, and 60,000,000,000 pieces of junk mail every year” for us to choose from, read, compare, manage and heed.1

An emergent group of “information environmentalists” states that their objective is to reclaim mental respite from the constant barrage of cell phones, personal digital assistants, instant messaging, email, specialized cable channels and massive amounts of news, entertainment and sales pitches.2 “It feels to me that as a result of the high speed at which we’re operating . . . we’re kind of numbing ourselves. Just trying to get by,” says Dr. David Levy, professor at University of Washington’s Information School and researcher at a think-tank that created the personal computer and laser printer.3

So I’m not crazy when I get the gut-sickening sensation that I’ll never catch up! I won’t. Nobody can. Thus, begone unnecessary guilt! I’m headed for fewer sleepless nights, trying to figure out how to get it all done.

Lord, I can’t maneuver through this over-the-top mania alone. We’re a team and I’m grateful. That’s enough for me today.

What’s your take on this information? Do you ever feel like you’ll never get it all done?

[Adapted from It's a Wonderful (Imperfect) Life.] http://tinyurl.com/DevoBook