Information Overload
As my work has shifted more heavily into food and agriculture over the last few years, the sheer amount of information available for any given subtopic continues to amaze and overwhelm me. As I’ve been struggling to grok all the datums and the bytes, I found the XKCD article and recent mini documentary by videographer Ivan Cash below interesting food for thought on what experiences and knowledge people should prioritize in the “Information Age.”
XKCD — “The Pace of Modern Life”
Since I live in Silicon Valley as a (non-self-identified) “Millenial” (I prefer “Digital Native.” Ahem.), I am probably living on the more extreme end of this trend, and I often wonder what Theodore Adorno and Max Horkheimer would have to say about it all.
Both narratives also refer to food as a foundational element of human community and overall well-being, and it made me wonder if people are taking less time to regularly sit down and eat good food with the people they care about. Generally, we know that Americans are working longer hours, and wages appear stagnant at best. Given the steadily rising costs of food, education and healthcare, it would be interesting to explore the links between wage growth, diet, stress, exercise, emotional well-being and the health risks associated with social isolation, sedentary lifestyles and chronically poor nutrition. Several of our society’s looming problems may be closely related to how we spend our time every day, the things we eat, and the people we eat them with.
How fundamentally would society change if people worked less, spent more time with loved ones and earned enough money to spend lavishly on food, especially for meaningful social gatherings? Would we all benefit more in the long term? Or would it be an economic drag?
Originally published at impactprogramdesign.com on March 4, 2015.
