Too much information coming in too fast can overwhelm a person's ability to handle it.
Factors contributing to information overload:
(1) large amount of unstructured information
(2) information delivered in a relatively short period of time
(3) the user's ability to assimilate the information
Consequences of information overload:
(1) important information overlooked/undetected
(2) psychological distress
(3) errors in judgment
(4) gaps in knowledge
Ways to address information overload:
(1) discipline in the process of delivering information
(2) filter out the irrelevant
(3) rank/prioritize the filtered information
(4) organize the information into easily assimilated chunks