The Infodemic

Planning to go on a vacation, looking to change the home decor, upgrading the car, buying a hot-selling home appliance or even moving house?

How do we do this? In the past, all we did was check with our trusted friends, read about market trends in the newspapers, discuss among family and a decision would be made.

Life was simple and uncomplicated. All this was before technology invaded our lives.

Now, thanks to the Internet, we face an overload — an information overload. There is information, lots and lots of it, an infodemic, about every single thing one can think of. Be it for the usual suspects like home reorganisation, food recipes, shopping for self or or be it for the more specialised areas like healthcare, architecture and more, one can find information in excess on the Internet. 

What happens when there is so much information so easily available? Well, I can only cite my own experience with it. Twenty years ago, when I was first diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, there was no Internet. That came later. There was also likely no information available about it except perhaps with neurologists and doctors. My husband and I, too, had never heard of MS before and since I had no symptoms to show, we remained blissfully ignorant. 

The availability of information at our fingertips would most certainly have helped understand what this dis-ease was all about. It could most definitely have been managed better. Who knows how it would have panned out over these years? Would I have been rid of it? Would I have been able to refer to it as something ‘I once had’..? One can only speculate.

Now, the situation is strangely reversed. I'm a member of an MS support group on Facebook with over twenty five thousand members. I have learnt so much about MS and everything connected to it. Again, while it has been completely enlightening, there is often so much information for a single query, that it often gets overwhelming. But having a support group like this helps tremendously. Knowing that there are others who are experiencing the same issues means one is not alone and a listening ear is always available, even when one may want to just vent. And believe me, that happens a lot out there.

Information on the Internet can help us navigate through many of life's challenges. From something as basic as checking traffic blocks before starting a journey to information about advances in medicine or opportunities in education at every level and so much more, the Internet is a behemoth of information. 

I have usually maintained that technology, in general, and the Internet, in particular, has been detrimental to our lives. But over time, I have realised that it is not always so. One noteworthy factor is that advances in technology are so rapid that we humans are not always able to match that pace and that results in us floundering. This speed also results in us being bombarded with an excess of everything and we end up being frustrated by our inability to process all that is available to us. The information is there for the taking. It is up to us to decide what is relevant and important to us and what is not worth our time or our energy. 

In my own case, there is now so much information available about MS that I am constantly learning new things and it sometimes raises a doubt on my understanding of the dis-ease. I am now in search of help with my healing. There are a number of individuals who have healed themselves, each using various dìfferent techniques and modalities, and are now looking to help others do the same. While one vouches for exercise to heal MS, there is someone else talking about having the right diet. One talks about the tremendous power of reiki for healing, another speaks about holistic lifestyle to allow for the same. Finding the right fit is my current challenge.

As the new year unfolds, I hope to navigate accurately in the right direction of my healing journey in the sea of information available. 

Best wishes for the New Year!!