Infomania

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for the infoMania TV show on Current TV see infomania (TV Series).

Infomania is the debilitating state of information overload, caused by the combination of a backlog of information to process (usually in email), and continuous interruptions from technologies like phones, instant messaging, and email. It is also understood as distraction caused by the urge to check email, text messaging and other sources of information, which causes the person to show symptoms to neglect other, often more important things - duties, family, etc. (For instance, a typical symptom of infomania is that of checking email frequently during vacation.)

[edit] Origin of the term

The term "infomania" has been used since the 1980s, but has only recently been used as a term for a psychological debility.

The term was coined by Elizabeth M. Ferrarini, the author of Confessions of an Infomaniac and Infomania-The Guide to Essential Electronic Services. Ferrarini's 1984 Infomaniac book was an early book about life online. It was excerpted in Cosmopolitan magazine in 1982.

[edit] See also

Distraction Information overload

Personal Information Management

[edit] External links

• Seattlepi:It's time to fight back against 'infomania'
• BBC:'Infomania' worse than marijuana

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