THE ISSUE OF ASSIMILATION OF INFORMATION EXCESS BY THE YOUTH OF THE POSTMODERN WORLD

Abstract

Problem – Introduction: whether the vast amount of broadly understood information that we deal with in the first two decades of the 21st century leads to a better understanding of the world or rather to information overload and general discouragement towards information as such. This is particularly relevant for pedagogical reasons, that is, in the context of school children and adolescents functioning. Purpose: in order to find an answer to this question, the results of recent research on the evident increase in the amount of information in the modern world and studies indicating the negative effects of this information overload, outweighing its cognitive benefits for mature man and for children and adolescents, were analyzed. Methods: one of the six strategies diagnosed by the cultural sociologist Tomasz Szlendak to deal with the problem of information excess in the modern world was also analyzed. This is the youth strategy of adaptation and assimilation of this overload, which the researcher evaluates definitely negatively. The following part of the article is an attempt to critically verify the validity of the Polish researcher’s diagnosis, since, as can be observed in everyday life and as is evident according to some empirical studies, not all children interact with electronic devices from an early age. Some parents, aware of the dangers of behavioral addictions, try to limit their children’s access to this technology with more or less success. Results: This verification was made on the basis of the results of the latest empirical studies, conducted by other researchers from different parts of Europe, on children and adolescents attitudes towards information technology. Ultimately, however, it turns out that these limitations are only possible in children up to about the age of 9. Originality: it is this critical verification of an already established thesis and the juxtaposition of the conducted studies results that determines the originality of the article. Conclusion: Parental restraints can mitigate the potentially negative effects of children’s early use of new media and screens. However, limiting adolescents access to the Internet, especially access to social media is far more difficult. The results of many studies in this area, however, are inconclusive and therefore need to be followed up.