There is this overwhelming assumption, especially around these parts, that information is a good thing in and of itself. That somehow, having infinite access to infinite streams of undifferentiated stuff is leading us to be smarter, faster and wiser consumers of concepts.

The fact that this is bunk should be obvious to anyone who has ever spent time “consuming concepts” on Youtube.

All information is not created equal, in fact, most of it is just created, with no particular desire to inform, educate or otherwise improve those consuming it. Most information is junk food, and we would all do well to start looking at it that way.

If I told you that my diet consisted mainly of double cheeseburgers, bakers chocolate and lard you would probably be a little worried about me. If, however, I told you that I read one hundred blogs, watch thirty videos and listen to ten podcasts a day you’d think I have a lot of time on my hands but would otherwise marvel at the depth and breadth of my information consumption. When you break both of these statements down, however, you find the same rich, chewy core at their centers — I am spending time (a very limited resource) to consume something that I hope will improve me in some way.

When we look at food, we are are mostly honest. We understand that some days a cheeseburger is really tasty and is OK to eat even if our doctor is going to scream at us for not watching our cholesterol. We also know that fruits, vegetables, complex carbohydrates and a carnival of vitamins and minerals are necessary parts of what keep our bodies happy, healthy and functioning. In the best cases we strike a balance between the two, or at least berate ourselves viciously for not being able to put down the deep fryer.

On the content side, we don’t seem to have a similar intuition. We will read op-ed pieces masquerading as statistical analysis and give them the weight of “truth.” We will watch news stories that fill our minds with fears and anxieties about statistically irrelevant or downright insane problems (how many times a week are we on the brink of pandemic?) and treat them as if they were something more than a brand of macabre entertainment. We will devote huge blocks of our time and energy to trolling around forums, blogs and web pages that confirm whatever half-baked bias we happen to be nursing and all the while we will convince ourselves that somehow doing this is making us better, smarter more informed human beings.

We are eating cheeseburgers, drinking lard and wondering why we can’t fit into our Prom dresses.

Sounds pretty awful, right? So, what are we to do about it?

I think we should take a good long look at how we spend our time and what, exactly, we are spending that time on. How much of the news that you watch is really informing better decisions and how much is making you afraid to step outside? How many of the blog posts that you read have turned into life changing actions and how many of them just reinforce stuff you already believe? How much of the “wisdom” of the crowds you hang around on Twitter or Facebook is actually making you better at the things that you want to be better at, and how much of it is just idle (albeit entertaining) water cooler conversation?

If you discover that something is junk, relegate it to the same pile you would your double cheeseburger obsession. Have it every now and again but make sure that you balance it against things that are actually making your life better and information that is actually guiding you towards your goals. Better yet, trim some of the fat out of your life. Stop consuming so much crap and start whittling it down to the stuff that inspires, informs, entertains and truly makes you happy. Be selective about your time and energy and guard your attention. Make the hard choice to excise the nightly news or your favorite mega-blog and replace it with that book you’ve been meaning to read or maybe just some more time with the dog. Be greedy with your life and when a shiny, new distraction comes your way be skeptical about it’s value to you.

The more access to information that we have, the more diligent we have to be about filtering that information in ways that make sense — separating fact from entertainment, truth from opinions and analysis from op-ed.

The power that information has given us comes with a responsibility to use it wisely and treat it with respect. Well, at least the same respect we would the Atkins diet.

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