This is exhausting.
If I hear the word “unprecedented” one more time I will lose my mind.
The pace and scale of information overload that we are dealing with right now is what is unprecedented.
I predict the next big pandemic to be C19IO (like C3PIO, pronounced C-ninteen-eee-ooohh) – Covid-19 Information Overload 
We need to understand the essential information, but do we really need another Covid-19 email from the water company to tell us not to phone them because if we phone customer service there are long waits on the line due to Covid-19 related staff shortages/protections/safety stuff, just on the random off-chance we might have a problem with our water even though we don’t because if we did, we wouldn’t be here now going through unnecessary emails about something that is way bigger than a wait time on a customer services line.
The Corporate Slice of the Covid Cake
It feels like everyone is on the C19 informational bandwagon. Spotify, Facebook, John bloody Lewis, Google, random recruitment companies (wanting to “manage my wellness during uncertain times”…), Barclays, flippin weekly AirBnB C19 digests all sending me their unique individual slice of the Covid Cake.
None of which I asked for.
Dude! It’s “just an email”! Just ignore it!
Yeah, it’s only an email, and yeah, I can ignore it, but take into account the volume of these messages we are getting on a daily basis. Filtering information is not an action, it is a process, one that takes time and attention, and energy.
In this volume of micro attentions, and decisions on what information is important and which is not, which to take action on and which to ignore, it adds up and it takes energy and effort to filter out their narrative.
Not only is this additional information unnecessary, but collectively it can impact our perspective and behaviour within this situation.
Zoning Out…
Multiple information sources, means we are having to zone out other information. There is only so much information our human brains can take in. We see the keyword Covid-19 can end up not responding to it in the way that it originally caught our attention. We become blind to it. Frustrated even.
And with so many different sources, all giving their take on this, no wonder we are confused and scattered. Which one do we give our attention to? Which one do we follow? What if they contradict each other?
Which source do we trust?
I truly understand and appreciate how privileged I am to be able to evaluate and question the information I am exposed to so that I can make critical judgements that help me decide on how meaningful the information is to me. I truly, truly am. This is not a skill that all parts of society get to develop, and this is not a societal issue we speak about often enough.
But many, many people do not have these skills. And these people are much more vulnerable to “information” about this situation which is not intended to be in the interest of the reader.
They say attention today is the most valuable commodity…
The information economy is capitalising on our emotional and very human heightened state right now to capture our attention.
Information is designed to be alarming and sensationalist to be persuasive to engage with. Articles such as the Mirror’s essential reading on “coronavirus symptoms to look out for” which report on “testicular pain” and “a strange ‘buzzing’ or ‘fizzing’ sensation on the skin” are designed to capture the imagination of readers, many who may be worried or frightened reading this.
Because that’s what we need – more unnecessary and inaccurate information which will invariably lead to more queries to health providers – thank you Mirror.
In our heightened state, we are vulnerable.
We are much more susceptible to having our attention captured by alarmist and sensationalised narratives, sparking our imagination, fuelling fear in our individual internal understanding of what we are dealing with in the world right now.
No wonder people are doing all sorts of crazy stuff like attempting to burn down 5G towners. It is this element of the C19 situation that is not unprecedented – because those capitalising on the delivery of this information already set the precedent.
And sometimes these narratives are designed to separate us from each other. To cause divisions between “us” and “Others”.
What to do?
I don’t necessarily believe it will be possible to influence those forces. I don’t think it will be possible to change the ethos of the Mirror to let go of the advertising power held in the sensational headline. But it may be possible to voice our dissatisfaction to the corporations grabbing their slice of the Corona Cake and trying to shove it down our throats as a branding exercise. Maybe an unsolicited communication dissatisfaction feedback email to customer service?
Who knows? Maybe we are powerless?
Awareness…
…what we zone out of…
What is most important is to check ourselves when we encounter the overload. To be aware that this level and volume of information is hard. To accommodate that within ourselves. Maybe be more conscious of what we are consuming, what information we are zoning out of and become blind to.
…and what we zone in to…
And to have curiosity about the kind of information and narrative we are zooming in to. Because when we spend time overemphasising our attention on any one particular theme, even if it feels true for us it is, it distracts from seeing things as they really are. And this is true for us throughout all aspects of our lives – because life ultimately is about keeping our balance.
And if you happen to work for one of these organisations, and your boss comes to you and asks about the official company official position on C19, and communication to customers, you might put the question is this really necessary? And if you can, make the point that adding additional information to the mix is not only not helpful but it could actually be damaging to the audiences receiving it at this heightened time.
And you could mention C19IO (pronounced like C3PIO, C-ninteen-eee-ooohh). – Covid-19 Information Overload – the next big epidemic. 
And that way, no one can ever claim it was “unprecedented”, and we will never have to hear that bloody word again to describe it.
Stay safe out there and be kind to yourself and to others, because this is all A LOT.