Information Diet

After reading Information Diet, I would have to say I was surprised by how careful I am about the information I consume. I honestly thought that my consumption would be just garbage. That’s not to say that my consumption is great, it’s just better than I thought it would be. For starters, I do not have cable. When I want to watch something it’s either via YouTube, Hulu or Netflix. I can also stream the programs I want to watch with definitely cuts out most of the junk tv. I have the same setup for the radio. I used to listen to talk radio and music constantly, but now I have the ability to listen to Spotify with no commercials, so again I am getting to choose what I want to hear. Because I have taken so much control over what information I input, I really only care about what’s inside my “bubble”. If it’s not of interest to me or directly applies to me then I honestly don’t really care. That’s terrible because I have the opportunity to have so much control.


I see this in my students also. Many of them only are interested in things relevant to their lives. I also see how this leads to misinformation often. Recently in a class I had a student tell me “Srta. did you know that Tupac (yes the rapper) died of AIDS?” I stopped looked over at him and said, “Where did you hear that?” He continued “Tumblr”. I’m not familiar with Tumblr and when I looked it up I really didn't understand it, but what I do know is he really thinks this musician died of AIDS and he probably isn't the only one who saw that site and thinks it too. I told my student I thought he had the wrong information and to check a more reliable source. They next day he came back and told me I was right and he didn’t die of AIDS. When this happened I laughed, but after reading Information Diet, I can see how important it is to teach our students, to not just use the internet correctly but to be able to decipher truths that they find.


What I do not have control over is how connected I am. Recently in my school, we have added a 1:1 program. While this is very exciting and good for our students, it also means that I am connected to them 24-7. They either email or message me via Google Classroom, at any time of the day. I want to be helpful and supportive for them, but I don’t try to cut them off or give myself “digital office hours”. It could be 10 at night and I will hear the special Google Classroom ding, that I’ve set up, and immediately rush to my phone to see who and what they need.


When I am not prepping for school or work, I spend my free time on the internet. The only time I am not online is when I’m cooking, (not a new recipe), showering or sleeping (but I have fallen asleep with the phone in my hands!) In my free time I am on Social Media. Most of what I am doing is looking at garbage. Even when I am watching a movie, I am connected, either looking up who the actor is or trivia surrounding the movie. When I think about it like this, I realize that I rarely spend time disconnected or looking at the quality material. I need to model better Information Consumption for my students so that they learn and can use the tools properly.