The Power of Slow

Embracing time so you have more of it

by Christine Louise Hohlbaum

TMI: Too Much Information…or Not Enough?

When is it too much information...or not enough?

Published on January 27, 2010 by Christine Louise Hohlbaum in The Power of Slow

It's a treat to tweet. Or is it not? Ask Casey Coleman, the General Services Administration's chief information officer, who was on a United Airlines flight from Washington to Las Vegas when a passenger attempted to open the exit door mid-flight. She tweeted about the experience, leaving a digital wake in a potentially fatal situation.

According to a report by Government Computer News, Coleman allegedly sent a message via her Twitter account: "During our flight to Las Vegas, some lunatic tried to open the front exit hatch in midair. About a dozen men rushed him [and] held him down." She gave a few more details over the next few hours. I am guessing she did not tweet these during the flight. Being a CIO she would know cell phone usage in mid-air is not allowed, but then again, neither is opening an exit hatch!

We live in the age of too much information. Had she tweeted during the flight with a more disasterous ending, I am wondering what her family members would have felt if they were literally her last words. Having known someone who called his daughter on his cell phone after crashing his car, only to die from the injuries he sustained in the accident, I know there are many, many benefits to our 24/7 world. It draws us closer. In some cases, too close.

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A much-cited Retrevo survey reveals that almost one third of those surveyed under age 35 admitted to checking their social media pages such as Twitter and Facebook more than ten times a day. Thirty-six percent of the 35-and-under group stated they update their status right after having sex. Post-coital tweets? Right.

When does our Digital Age foster information flow, and when does it hinder it?

The University of Virginia announced it will no longer be printing a yearbook, just shy of its 120th annual edition. At the risk of sounding nostalgic, it makes me sad to think UVA alumni won't have those dusty books to pour over during reunions with old college buddies and to laugh in unison over the hairstyles and fashion years to come. It's just not the same giggling into a monitor while seeing individual photos shot eons ago.

Too much information? Or not the right kind? You decide.