Overstimulated

It seems to me that these days people are overstimulated with useless information. I realize that I am contributing to the problem with my blog, but I don't really expect anyone to read this besides my husband. He seems amused by it, and I enjoy writing my little thoughts, so it works out. The useless information I am talking about is more like updates on Twitter and Facebook, endless junk mail and junk e-mail, the majority of television shows, advertisements, and even a lot of books and music. Now I know people have a choice as to what they pay attention to, but I sometimes feel almost bombarded by all this information. How can you truly know what information is useless until you screen it yourself? The problem is, so much to screen and too little time. I couldn't possibly read every newspaper, every advertisement, every piece of mail, every instruction book. I couldn't watch every news broadcast or listen to every piece of music that is on the radio or internet. I'm sure a lot of people will say, "Well it is pretty easy to tell when something is not worth reading or watching." Maybe so, but I still think almost everyone gets overwhelmed by the sheer volume of data out there once in a while. Anyone can have a web site now, and anyone can write a book or a blog. If a friend of yours writes a blog, does that mean it is something important that you should read? What if everyone you know writes a blog? How do you keep up with that? As you can probably tell, I am one of the overstimulated. Sometimes I almost wish there was no internet or cell phones. Sure it would mean less convenience, but I also think it would mean more peace of mind and more actual human interaction.

I also see the over-stimulation of society reflected in newer movies. I see a change that many others don't seem to see. I see more and more movies that are fast-paced, crammed with more and more action and information, and overall scatterbrained in general. Yet these movies are the "top rated" movies. The movies everyone wants to see. The movies that get great reviews. Maybe this means that people like all the stimulation, or at least they are used to it. As for me, I wish to go more in the direction of Henry David Thoreau -

Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life?

Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumbnail.