''Data Smog'' is a 1997 book by journalist David Shenk and published by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

. It addresses the author's ideas on how the

information technology Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...

revolution would shape the world, and how the large amount of data available on the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

would make it more difficult to sift through and separate fact from fiction.

Argument of the book

According to ''Data Smog'', with the advance of

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

, we have been able to progress in terms of society, economy, and even health. Communication is instantaneous, knowledge is abundant, and as humans we try to keep up with this expansion of data that continues to accumulate from around the world. However, it is the overwhelming amount of information that is defined as data smog; "this unexpected, unwelcome part of our atmosphere, an expression for the noxious muck and druck of the

Information age The Information Age is a historical period that began in the mid-20th century. It is characterized by a rapid shift from traditional industries, as established during the Industrial Revolution, to an economy centered on information technology ...

."Bucy, Eric P. (2005). Living in the Information Age: A New Media Reader. In Shenk, David, The First Law of Data Smog (pp. 159). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. The wealth of information is harming some because of sheer amount of it and rate of production: "The sheer volume of information which many of us are exposed to every day may actually impair our performance and add stress to our lives."About.com Medical Review Board. (2003). Coping with "Data Smog". Retrieved March 4, 2007, www.About.com Web site: http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/computerstuff/a/datasmog.htm In fact, according to statistics provided by Shenk, "In 1971 the average American was targeted by at least 560 daily advertising messages. Twenty years later, that number has risen six fold, to 3,000 messages per day." It is argued that "Just as fat has replaced starvation as this nation’s number one dietary concern,

information overload Information overload (also known as infobesity, infoxication, or information anxiety) is the difficulty in understanding an issue and Decision making, effectively making decisions when one has too much information (TMI) about that issue, and is ...

has replaced information scarcity as an important new emotional, social, and political problem." As per David Lewis, PhD in psychology, this attempt at consuming the majority of data, the result is what he calls "information fatigue syndrome."Murray, Bridget. (1998). Data smog: newest culprit in brain drain. Retrieved March 4, 2007, www.apa.org: VOLUME 29, NUMBER 3 Web site: http://www.apa.org/monitor/mar98/smog.html This term refers to the data smog that we encounter daily that ultimately interferes with our sleep, concentration, and even affecting our immune systems. According to

clinical psychologist Clinical psychology is an integration of human science, behavioral science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well ...

Michelle Weil "the problems stem from people’s overuse or misuse of technologies and from technology’s ineffective presentation of information, researchers are finding."

Neologism

In 2004, Shenk's original term "data smog" was added to the Oxford English DictionaryRick Thompson, ''Writing for Broadcast Journalists'', Routledge, 2005
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References

{{reflist 1997 non-fiction books