Information overload: are we consuming more and remembering less?

Think about the last hour of your day. How many times did you scroll through your phone, check email, or skim a news headline? Chances are, you’ve consumed more information than someone from the 1800s would encounter in an entire week. And yet, with all this data at our fingertips, how much are we really remembering? Or are we, quite literally, frying our mental circuits?

Welcome to the age of information overload, where our brains are working overtime to process a whopping 11-13 hours (est.) per day engaging with social media, YouTube, streaming services like Netflix, not to mention “old school” sources like cable TV, radio, newspapers and other print media.

Compare that to the early 1900s, when daily information intake was measured in manageable chunks – perhaps a few news articles, a book chapter, and some word-of-mouth updates. Back then, people had time to mull over and retain what they learned. Today, the endless onslaught of tweets, TikTok videos, and emails has many of us wondering: are we losing the ability to retain anything useful?

The Hippocampus: Your Brain’s Overworked Librarian

At the center of this dilemma is your hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory and information processing. Think of it as a diligent librarian, cataloguing your experiences and storing them for future reference. But like any librarian, it has its limits.

When you bombard your hippocampus with constant, fragmented information – like switching between viral cat videos and breaking news alerts – it struggles to decide what’s worth keeping. According to cognitive neuroscientists, this "cognitive overload" can impair the hippocampus’s ability to consolidate long-term memories. The result? A head full of noise, with little to show for it.

Then vs. Now: A Tale of Deep Thinking

In the 1800s and early 1900s, information was a scarce commodity. People read deeply – books, letters, or newspapers – and engaged in thoughtful conversations. This slower pace allowed for deeper cognitive processing, which helped the brain encode and store memories effectively.

Today, by contrast, we often consume information passively and superficially, bingeing the latest streaming series or scrolling through our social media feeds – clicking from link to link, and engaging with “fluff” while multitasking (eating, doing dishes, etc). This "shallow processing" not only reduces our ability to retain information, but also makes it harder to discern what is useful.

The Cost of Always Being Plugged In

The consequences of information overload go beyond forgetfulness. Mental fatigue, reduced attention spans, and even heightened stress levels have been linked to our always-on lifestyles. Ironically, the more we consume, the less we seem to know. An often-quoted Microsoft study revealed that the average attention span has dropped from 12 seconds in 2000 to just 8 seconds today, thanks to our constant digital distractions.

Although this study has been widely disputed, the research of psychologist Gloria Mark, a professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine, found that our attention spans (focusing on a particular screen) is now around 47 seconds. This has dropped from 75 seconds in 2012 and roughly 2.5 minutes in 2004. Better than a goldfish, but still pretty short when you consider how many of us are considered “knowledge workers,” and would benefit by increasing this 2x, 4x or more.

Can We Fix This?

Thankfully, there are ways to help your hippocampus breathe. Start by practicing mindful consumption: limit your daily screen time, focus on high-quality content, and take regular breaks. The second-last one will be a challenge for me, as those clickbaity timewasters can be so much fun. Just keep in mind that the feeling doesn't last.

Also, engage in activities that require deep thinking, like reading a book or journaling. Most importantly, resist the urge to multitask – your brain isn’t designed to juggle 20 apps at once.

The next time you’re tempted to scroll endlessly, remember this: your brain, remarkable as it is, has limits. Treat it with care, and it will reward you with clarity, focus, and memories that actually stick. After all, in a world drowning in information, the real skill is knowing what to leave behind.

Maybe you'll even gain a new superpower for 2025!

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Neil Moore is a communications specialist, freelance journalist, masters athlete, and family man who believes that excellence has no expiry date.

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