As someone who works in the communications industry, this is something of a nuisance.
A letter on the subject from Tim Pyne to The Independent illustrates the problem perfectly. He had recently been to a talk by James Gleik on this very subject. They had a chat after the talk and both agreed that self-filtering had become an inevitability and I couldn't agree more with them on this point.
This state of mind can be very difficult to combat. I find it hard to get through an entire article in a magazine, let alone finish a book.
Yesterday, attempting to glean information about VAT on HM Customs & Excise website, I actually fell into a sort of catatonic state, unresponsive to attempts at revival. The only thing that saved me was a strong cup of tea and a walk around the block.
Tim Pyne, the letter writer from the start of this post (are you still with me?), decided to solve the problem by throwing his £500 iPhone into the bin. I can only hope he erased all his personal information first.
He says he's feeling much better for it, like a reformed drug addict, but I think I need to find another way.
Annoying as it is to feel permanently wired to the World outside, I do believe we are enriched by the ability to share and broadcast information as we do today. With this freedom comes the need for self-control, the power to Switch Off. I guess that's the part I need to work on!
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