Information overload

With so much going on in the world, I feel left behind on all of the hot stories. On a daily basis we are being inundated with news ranging from celebrity gossip to countries on the verge of war. I think we have reached the point of over-saturation. There is so much information being thrown at us from the minute we wake up that it begins to become difficult to realize what actually matters.

In the last hundred years or so this country has changed drastically in how connected we are to the news. In the early 1900's the only news sources were newspapers and radio. Today, everywhere we look there are screens showing TV channels with scrolling dials discussing our impending demise and how we are on the brink of governmental implosion. Facebook may be one of the largest culprits of this intrusion of news reports in my life, with posts ranging from every political spectrum to pro-life stances and discussions about home schooling cluttering up my feed.

At what point is all of this information just too much? Are people expected to know everything that is being posted? Between Syria,
Miley Cyrus, the Sequester, and U2's Bono, I don't know what is what anymore.

There has to be a way to communicate information more efficiently.With too much information available it all becomes a big blur. Here are a few questions to see how much information you are actually retaining:

1. Who is the President of Syria?
a. Mohammed Morsi
b. Hassan Rouhani
c. Bashar Assad
d. Walter White

2. What is minimum wage in Illinois?
a. $7.25
b. $8.25
c. $8.50
d. $7.75

3. The winner of Miss America was of what descent?
a. Irish
b. French
c. African American
d. Indian

4. Where are the 2014 Winter Olympics being held?
a. Sochi, Russia
b. Salzburg, Austria
c. Pyeongchang, South Korea
d. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

5. Apple recently released two new phones, what model were they?
a. 4s and 4c
b. 5g and 5c
c. 5s and 5c
d. 5c and 5p

Tweet your answers to me @ImGonnaGet2It. I look forward to seeing how many people can answer these correctly. The answers will be revealed in the October 15 issue of the Phoenix, as well as the number of people who answer correctly.

Steve Luzzo
@ImGonnaGet2It