Also at fault, however, is the medium and people's lack of training in how to effectively use it. When employees use e-mail to communicate with someone 50 feet away, there's a problem. Inefficient inventory software yields frustration where a simple list on paper would do the trick. The problem continues even outside the office. A Sunday edition of the New York Times carries more information than the average 19th-century citizen accessed in his entire life.
Billboards smother our roadways and buildings.
In some cities, advertising is even stuck to the sides of police vehicles. Cable and satellite TV offer dozens of channels of meaningless drivel. We accept all this input with a tired, sometimes even curious, smile. The barrage of data to which we are constantly exposed carries a cost, both physically and mentally. In many ways, it is a bona fide addiction.