Is news consumption like food consumption?
Yes. The way it is consumed and created is very similar. Big agriculture has a responsibility to create cheap popular calories. And as a result we don’t have nutritional foods, which is causing a national obesity problem in America. In the same way, we also have a fiduciary responsibility to develop cheap, popular information. The result, as I call it in the book, is “affirmation based news.” You have MSNBC on the left, telling people on the left what they want to hear, and on the right, you have Fox News telling people on the right what they want to hear.
What part of affirmation based news is being driven by technology?
It’s just like the unhealthy pizza that can be sourced from anywhere and delivered to your house in 30 minutes. We have search engine optimization where people write for what people are searching for. We have multivariate testing, where sites like The Huffington Post are testing headlines in real time to see which variation of several headlines gets the most number of clicks.
Do you think we have information overload?
I don’t think we have information overload, I think we have an information consumption problem. We don’t say that people have a food overload, we say they have an obesity problem. Fried chicken is not killing itself and jumping into a deep fryer. It is not the chicken’s fault.
So is this the fault of the consumer, or the creator?
Consumers have to take responsibility for their information consumption. They have to make what they consume just as much a part of a healthy lifestyle as the foods they eat. We have government agencies to regulate the quality of our food, air and water, but we don’t have that for information — and we shouldn’t, because the First Amendment is set up to protect us from that. So my solution is that we have to create a sustainable news movement, much like we’ve created a sustainable food movement. We have to create a demand for less sensationalized information.
Where does data play into information obesity?
Data plays a big role in our information consumption. Our definition of literacy is changing. We have to, as consumers, make data a part of our natural consumption habits. There are sites like Everyblock.com that allow people to see data coming out of municipal sources of government. This should be an applicable part of our information diet.
So where do social sites play into the information diet?
It comes down to the way these services are used. It’s important to pay attention to the people you’re following. Understand that your clicks have consequences, if you spend all day checking out people that are not important to you, then Facebook is going to recognize that and deliver information that is not relevant to you at all.
But shouldn’t we let people who want to read about Snooki, for example, read about Snooki?
Sure, but the consequences are that they are making it so other people are reading about Snooki.
So reading about Snooki is like smoking in public?
Yes. When you consume an article about Snooki, someone else is going to see that article too.
Should we consume less information?
Yes. The average America consumes between 11 and 12 hours of information per day. They are not spending that time walking around, or being otherwise active. They are usually spending that time being completely sedentary.
So what are your doctor’s orders for information consumers?
Consume information locally. Consume information about your community and your family first. Be more concerned with your spouse than the President and his spouse. Or Snooki. Be literate and to up your game when it comes to data literacy. Understand that your information diet is consequential to others. Demand whole and sustainable news, not news that is based on sensationalized content and placed next to advertising.
Wandering Wandering Star 