...they end with 'mania' or 'teria.'"
In Homer Simpson's world, the new affliction of "infomania," diagnosed by Britain's Institute of Psychiatry in a recent study for Hewlett Packard, would be a great thing. In the non-cartoon universe, however, it's being presented as the opposite. According to this BBC report about the study, infomania is an addiction to emails, text messages and other forms of instant communication that causes people to become distracted from their work and, most alarmingly, suffer a drop in IQ that's twice as precipitous as that caused by marijuana use.
But hold on a minute. The BBC report leaves out some information that would seem pretty crucial in determining whether this study is worth paying attention to. For instance, it cites a 10-point drop in IQ among those who were "distracted by incoming email and phone calls." Who qualifies as distracted? A 10-point drop over what period of time, and what level of distraction? And the marijuana use - are they comparing IQ loss to that of pot smokers who puff a single joint, puff occasionally or puff chronically? Without those details, it's difficult to attach much significance to this research.
Which could be the fault of the BBC, or the researchers themselves. Either way, there are far too many of these stories in the media these days, stories based on weak or at least very preliminary research that nevertheless get published because of the need to fill space and the attention-grabbing value of a headline that screams "Infomania worse than marijuana." I fear that this kind of journalism is also too easily accepted by the public because, shaky facts aside, the conclusions somehow feel true. I know I certainly found myself shaking my head in sad agreement at the finding that 62% of respondents checked work-related messages while at home or on holiday.
Is infomania real? Possibly, but I don't see the reason to get all manic about it at this point.
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