Overload and boredom : essays on the quality of life in the information society / Orrin E. Klapp.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Klapp, Orrin E. (Orrin Edgar), 1915-1997.

Series:

Contributions in sociology 0084-9278 ; no. 57.

Contributions in sociology. 0084-9278 ; no. 57

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Communication--Social aspects.

Communication.

Communication--Psychological aspects.

Entropy (Information theory).

Boredom.

Physical Description:

174 pages ; 22 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : Greenwood Press, 1986.

Summary:

This series of essays explores the impact of information on the quality of life in modern society. Addressing the significance of boredom as an indicator of overloads of information, Klapp argues that the information society has become boring in spite of itself. He contends that constant inundation with information has led to nothing less than the attrition of meaning. Redundancy and noise, Klapp asserts, have replaced resonance and variety in the modern world. The information society has become entropic rather than progressive and a deficit in the quality of life has resulted. The author expands upon these problems of the information society; identifying their origins, addressing their implications, and examining the social placebos and temporary remedies currently employed in dealing with them. Finally, he offers his conclusions and suggests ways in which modern man might address the loss in human potential and perhaps find a remedy for culturally symptomatic boredom.

Notes:

Includes index.

Bibliography: pages [155]-167.

ISBN:

0313250014

OCLC:

12421004