The information available via the Internet is more a curse than blessing. With the click of a mouse, we can find pages of alleged information on any subject imaginable. However, the mind numbing stream of links to various Web destinations does more to distract and waste time than feed imagination and creativity. Information and software choices are billed as time saving enhancements. However, for some of us, these marvels of technology give us a false impression of productivity.
The thousand plus hits on a given search subject makes it difficult for me to decide which one to open first; although, 99% of the time I seldom get beyond the first page of links. If I happen to go deeper, persistent Web sites manage to list their links repeatedly on page after page; so, the number of real hits is less than advertised by Google, Bing, or any number of search engines/advertising platforms. More often than not, I come away from my searches only wasting time with no more real knowledge than when I started. If I think I find something useful and do not recognize bias and spin in the guise of objectivity, I am ultimately drawn into the web of advertisement disguised as information that permeates online culture.
In fact, I find that write less, surf the Web continually, and feed my proclivity for procrastination by messing with technology. Creativity, for me, requires some modicum of concentration. It’s too easy to be drawn to an e-mail when the incoming tone sounds or to check my frequently visited Web sites. Distractions give me the excuse that my mind craves, a shift to natural and away from of work.