Infobesity: Challenges and Strategies for Managing Information Overload

In today's world of information overload, the abundance of content can make it difficult to stay abreast the latest knowledge published in fields of interests. This challenge impacts both individuals and organizations in various ways. Cogniges, a company specializing in information sciences and management, offers insights into the risks associated with infobesity and provides solutions based on leading practices.

Infobesity: What Exactly Are We Talking About?

Infobesity is a catch-all term that combines the words information and obesity. The Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) defines it as follows: "Overabundance of information characteristic of the digital age, essentially attributable to information and communication technologies and the hyperconnectivity that results from them."

The lexical field associated with infobesity includes terms such as: information overload, information deluge, infopollution, tyranny of information, etc.

When it comes to personal risks linked to infobesity, the terminology currently used includes the following terms: mental overload, sense of urgency, feeling of incompetence, stress, loss of time, cognitive saturation syndrome, hyperconnection, cyberdependence, FOMO syndrome (fear of missing out, which the OQLF also calls anxiety of missing out), guilt, decrease in the quality of the decision-making process, risk of action paralysis, misinformation, difficulty in distinguishing quality information, risk of intertwining between professional and personal aspects of information, etc. [1, 2, 3].

On the organizational level, while high-quality and timely information should be the basis for informed-based decision-making and innovation, information overload causes frequent work interruptions, slows down decisions, and causes a decline in productivity and innovation.

From an environmental perspective, the impact of the digital information tsunami is now considered one of the issues that some liken to a digital Diogenes syndrome, characterized by the compulsive production and preservation of data.

What are the proposed solutions to mitigate the risks of information overload and to stay informed?

Lean & Leading Information Management Strategies

Here are some strategies for improved information management that can be implemented at both individual and organizational levels:

• Training and establishing an information culture: Developing or consolidating information skills concerns the individual and the organization. This requires training, the use of the right tools and the support needed to make good use of them, collaborative work, the choice of the optimal communication channels, recognizing that we can't know everything and learning digital sobriety [1, 4]. Here are three practical actions that can be implemented: limiting the use of cc (carbon copy) when sending emails, practicing file sharing rather than sending attachments, using collaborative platforms for brief exchanges. Cogniges offers training in all these areas.
• Granting yourself the right to disconnect: To combat information fatigue and alleviate the digital burden of hyperconnection, several countries have enacted legislation. France, for instance, has incorporated this right into its Labor Code. However, simply passing a law is not sufficient to change practices. According to the Observatory of Infobesity and Digital Collaboration (Observatoire de l'infobésité et de la collaboration numérique), a manager who leads by example can provide a positive impetus [5].
• Selecting key information based on knowledge requirements: This involves knowing the target audience's objectives and information needs. This dynamic process requires continuous critical analysis of credible sources and the essential information they contain, ensuring the selection is aligned with the specified requirements. The overabundance of information published, especially during periods such as a pandemic, complicates the process of distinguishing valuable information from irrelevant content, leading to the concept of infodemiology [6]. It is impossible to read everything relevant that is published, even within a niche field [3].
• Organizing information aligned to needs, using architecture, taxonomy, or mapping: High-quality, targeted and timely information and has been vetted, interpreted, structured, and captured can become strategic and actionable knowledge. Key content informs decision-making, action and new research, involving both producers and users of information. Upstream, producers can design interfaces to facilitate access and for an optimal user experience. At the organizational level, this content structuring is part of information governance and management best practices. Establishing a digital information retention schedule to rationalize content storage is also part of the process.
• Performing Content Curation: As content managers, information specialists excel in selecting, analyzing, organizing and sharing relevant information with their clients by providing information monitoring services. Managers and users then review and consume the information they need, thereby enhancing their productivity.
• Leveraging Semantic Web and Artificial Intelligence (AI): Artificial intelligence holds potential, to support professionals and address infobesity by: streamlining information collection, enabling large-scale content processing and named entity extraction, and enhancing information targeting based on user profiles.

In conclusion, implementing effective information management solutions in your organization can help reduce information overload.

Contact the Cogniges team to find out more about our information research & monitoring services and how we provide you with the strategic business intelligence you need!

References

[1] Sauvajol-Rialland, C. (2014). Infobésité, gros risques et vrais remèdes. L’Expansion Management Review, (1), 110-118. 
[2] Texier, B. (2023-2024). Prévenir et guérir l’infobésité. Archimag, (370), 15-16. ($)
[3] Bawden, D. et Robinson, L. (2020). Information overload: an overview. Dans Oxford Encyclopedia of Political Decision Making. Oxford University Press.   
[4] Casimir, S. (2023-2024). Méthodes et outils : éviter l’infobésité à tous les niveaux. Archimag, (370), 18-20. ($)
[5] Observatoire de l’infobésité et de la collaboration numérique (France). (2023). Référentiel annuel 2023.  
[6] The Lancet. (2020). The truth is out there, somewhere [Editorial]. The Lancet, 396(10247), 291.  ($)