Info overload creates “ostrich complex” - Wylie Communications, Inc.

Ignorance may really be bliss

What happens when readers are overloaded with information?

Info overload creates “ostrich complex” — **Head in the sand** Don’t let your readers get overwhelmed by information *Image by Sven-Kåre Evenseth*

Ralph L. Lowenstein and John C. Merrill, authors of Macromedia: Mission, Message and Morality, write:

“(T)he more communications we receive, the less each is taken seriously. In a sense, we are experiencing a period of communication inflation in which messages become ‘cheaper’ (of less value) as they become more numerous.

“One research study has shown that the average American is exposed to 1,600 advertising messages each day but is moved pro or con by no more than 15 of them.

“Undoubtedly there is also an increase in total quality, but this seems obscured in the repetitions, jargonized gush of pap and prattle.

“Ignorance perhaps is really bliss, and a kind of ‘ostrich complex’ may prove the sanest stance for a human being to take today.”

Have your readers stuck their heads in the sand? How do you overcome “continuous partial attention“?

How long should your message be?
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