Tech Report: How Much Information Is Too Much?

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – How much information is too much information? KCBS Technology Analyst Larry Magid said that was the topic at a recent Churchill Club event titled "Information Overload 2.0."

"The problem is that we have this notion that we can multi-task," Magid said. "We seem to think that we can do two, three or four things at once. But what scientists have found out is that we're not multi-tasking, we're task switching, going back and forth from task to task."

KCBS Technology Analyst Larry Magid:

Magid said jumping from task to task like that is an inefficient way of doing things.

"There has been research done by Microsoft and the University of Illinois that found a 10-15 minute recovery time once you're interrupted (from a task)," he said. "It's not like you can't jump from one task to the next, but your efficiency isn't going to be quite as good."

Magid said there is also a major generational gap with this task switching, as many younger people are conditioned that way.

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