Broadband Life and Internet Anxiety Disorder

ChipGuy writes "Broadband brings the world right to your laptop or your handheld. With it comes information, and along with it comes desire to stay connected, and on top of everything. Om Malik calls it Internet Anxiety Disorder. 'The rush to catch-up and living a six megabits per second lifestyle, is what I think is going to be first major malaise of the 21st century - Internet anxiety disorder,' he says. Firefox developer, Blake Ross thinks that 'Internet hardwires developing brains with a click-happy sense of urgency that will not defer to reality. We are addicted to information and seek it even when we know it's not available.' Others have described this info-addiction as Nerd Attention Deficiency Disorder."

Re:Anxiety disorder not new- Internet nothing spec

[BlueFashoo]

This is why people have a large portion of their brain dedicated to ignoring stuff.

It's True!

The thalamus filters information heading towards the cortex, and the reticular activating system (in the brain stem) filters out extraneous information, i.e. constantly present odors, background hums, etc. You'd go crazy if this was broken.

The Control Revolution

[Anonymous Coward]

James Beringer's The Control Revolution touches upon this very subject. I'd recommend this book to anyone who's interested in Western society's transition from an industrial economy to one based on information. Fascinating read for anyone who's interested in technology and civilization.