Information Overload: Scenario Analysis
Description:
The ultimate goal of Assignment 1 is to practice your knowledge and skills to be able to protect yourself from a specific instance of Information Overload. You will be given a scenario, about a specific overwhelming and threatening situation, where the flow rate and quantity of information are too high. You will be asked to elaborate an educated opinion and account for a strategy to protect yourself from the overload. You will be invited to describe how you would sensibly use media to avoid worsening the situation and to minimize the negative consequences on your mental health. The learning outcomes of this assessment are to:
- Understand the basic concepts of the mass media and the world of social media.
- Discuss fundamental concepts of contemporary mediated communication.
- Explain the role and impact of emerging technologies in modern society.
- Demonstrate ability to communicate knowledge.
Tasks:
This assignment shall be completed individually and submitted as per the deadline announced on Moodle. You shall:
- Examine the provided scenario and expose its challenges, then elaborate on the negative consequences (threats) that it may engender.
- Suggest a specific strategy to protect yourself (and possibly your team/family) from the mentioned threats; or at least to minimize their impact. Provide a coherent and specific plan, with concrete steps.
- A) What would you do to use media effectively (practical steps)?
- B) How to take care of your mental health and wellbeing
- Finally, describe the difficulties to implement your own suggested plan and the challenges you may face, and mention what you would do in worst-case scenario.
- Your essay should include 700 to 750 words.
Proposed Scenario:
You had planned to chill out in front of the TV, after a long hectic week. You are finally there with your family or friends. Your mobile phone is beside you. From time to time, you receive breaking news notifications, e-mails and a number of social media messages. Someone there is using a computer and you can see what is on screen. You decided to ignore everything in order to relax and recharge. Suddenly, you realized that you are not enjoying the moment you had long waited for. You feel stressed out and overwhelmed. Now, you even feel angry and upset for no apparent reason. Your mind is gradually submerged by many negative thoughts that are usually not related and you cannot stop thinking about next week’s projects and exams.
You on the one hand know that there is a lot to do for next week’s assessments, but you also worry about your health. You need to avoid information overload in order to shield against burnout.