There are several tabs open in the browser, a “read later” folder in Telegram, saved posts piling up on social media, and screenshots in the gallery whose meaning is already hard to remember. Each of these things once seemed useful. An article might have come in handy for work, a video looked worth watching in the evening, and a list of services felt too valuable to lose. A few weeks pass, and no one returns to most of them. Still, we keep saving more.
Just a few decades ago, the main sources of information were books, newspapers, and television. Today, a person is constantly immersed in a digital stream: messages in messengers, social media feeds, work chats, push notifications, news, videos, and advertising accompany us almost continuously. This state is called digital overload — a situation in which the volume of information exceeds the brain’s ability to process it calmly. It is important to understand that this is not about “unnecessary” information, but about its constant availability and rapid смена, which leaves no time for reflection.