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Home » Diet » 'The Information Diet': Should Americans Exercise More 'Conscious Consumption'?

JEFFREY BROWN: Next, a different concept of health and nutrition in the age of digital technology.

Hari Sreenivasan has our book conversation.

HARI SREENIVASAN: Information has become so abundant and so cheap that, like food, many of us consume too much of it. And what we consume isn't always the best around.

In "The Information Diet," author Clay Johnson lays out the case for conscious consumption.

So, Clay, first, lay out what the problem is, and what are some signs that we are unconsciously consuming information?

CLAY JOHNSON, author: Well, the problem is that we have this idea that it is the information's fault. So call it information overload.

But that doesn't really make sense. It's sort of like saying we are suffering from obesity and therefore we're suffering from food overload. It's like blaming the chicken for our obesity problems. And there is one victim of our mass consumption of food. It is certainly the chicken who is giving its life so that we can eat.

And I think the same thing is happening with information. We're suffering from information malnutrition or information overconsumption, not information overload. And it has all kinds of really physiological and psychological effects on us.

Like, one thing that is discussed in "The Information Diet" is this concept of email apnea. When we get emails, our tendency is to hold our breath, is to take a deep breath or even to just take a really shallow breath. And that has all kinds of different effects on our autonomic nervous system and it can really affect your health.

HARI SREENIVASAN: So each time we hear a tiny little ding that says there is an email in-box, something is physiologically happening to us?

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'The Information Diet': Should Americans Exercise More 'Conscious Consumption'?

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Home » Diet » 'The Information Diet': Should Americans Exercise More 'Conscious Consumption'?