The Poorer, Less Educated Americans Suffer From Information Overload - And the Rest Manage Just Fine

The recently released report by the Pew Research Center indicates that the minority of Americans who admit that they have a difficult time managing internet-infused information overload have a lower socio-economic status than those who do. Their income bracket is lower, their financial status is less secure, and many of them do not have a college degree.

The Guardian, in studying the report, makes the following analysis: this admission by 20 percent of the internet-using American population shows up 'the digital divide' that still separates the haves from the have-nots. This so-called minority also confesses to experiencing undue stress, along with an increasing lack of self-confidence, once they are called on to navigate the web and its various platforms of data. About 45 percent of the participants in the research who admitted difficulty only have a high school diploma. Their total household income is $30,000.

Compare this to the 'majority' who say they can track down information like a breeze and can filter, organize, analyze, and apply it to their daily lives. These people, who make up 39 percent of the study, have finished college education and have a total household income of $75,000.

Marketwatch concurs that money may have something to with the discomfort and the insecurity. About 84 percent of those who said that they can handle information overload also have access to a multiple of devices like the smartphone, a tablet, and internet at home. About 71 percent of those who do not have access to the same devices feel inadequate in managing the ever-present, ever-streaming data.

The participants who have all these devices at their disposal can tap into the internet easily because of the apps in these machines. They can easily download apps that can help them organize their schedule, guide them through traffic, book them a dinner in a restaurant, or point them to various databases for their work-related research. The presence of these devices at home, work, or their kids' school life also make them even more familiar with the internet. Tapping into and using information is one long, continuous process every day, with very few interruptions.

Meanwhile, those who cannot afford to buy a couple or more of these devices just might flounder in their web navigation because they are not as familiar with its many channels. Neither can they immediately download apps that can help them find their way.

Many people are worried that too much internet use can strain the human brain. Now they have another concern to mull over. Ultimately, a user's ability to rise above the flow of data and control is may not just speak of skill or knowledge, but social status, as well.