In today’s society, we often find ourselves surrounded by an excessive amount of information. From the moment my alarm goes off to the last glance at my phone before bed, I am constantly bombarded by an overload of information. Whether it be news alerts, social media, breaking news, or podcasts.
Gertrude Stein, a famous poet and novelist, said, “Everybody gets so much information all day long they lose their common sense.” This is more relevant than ever in a time like the one we are in.
Information used to be hard to find, and now it is everywhere. Every time I get a notification or see a trending topic, it’s always trying to get your attention. I often find myself getting confused between consuming information and actually understanding it. I’ll wake up, read a dozen articles that all say different things, see hot takes on what is going on around the world, and then realize that I haven’t even finished breakfast. This, however, leads to us having trouble thinking clearly as we are constantly being told about everything. Our brains are constantly exhausted by the amount of news we are taking in, and we struggle to even piece together what’s happening.
Common sense may seem like an easy thing to do, but it is actually a highly valuable tool. It is our internal compass to help us make decisions about what is practical, fair, and true without having to do a large amount of research. It is formed by observing and experiencing things.
However, whenever our brains are constantly being fed conflicting expert opinions, viral panics, and statistics, our internal compass is lost. We begin to doubt simple truths as our screen is telling us there are fifty different ways to look at a situation. We begin to overthink situations and lose our natural common sense. We know so much about how the world should be that we forget how to just live.
In addition to being exhausting, the constant flow of information makes us feel like we should have an opinion on everything. We feel like we should care about every issue, respond to every headline, and have an opinion on everything before we’ve even fully understood the facts. This leaves no room for grey areas and uncertainty, which are important when really understanding something or wanting to aspire to creativity. Everything is such a big deal that there really is no time to stop and think using simple logic.
I have been thinking about ways to adjust my information processing. Turning my phone off, limiting notifications, going for a walk without headphones, or having an afternoon without internet access could be seen as an extreme step. However, during this time, the noise from the internet goes away. My thoughts return, my perspective becomes clearer, and my normal, more natural judgement returns.
Gertrude Stein’s observation is a helpful reminder of how too much info can lead to a lack of common sense. Information is a helpful tool but cannot replace true wisdom, no matter how great a mound of info a person may have.
To keep our common sense in such a noisy digital world, we must be selective with what we pay attention to, enjoy our quiet times, and remember that knowing everything that is going on is nowhere near as important as knowing what is important in our own lives.
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