Eoin Whelan

Eoin Whelan is a Lecturer in Business Information Systems at the National University of Ireland, Galway. His research interests focus upon the unintended consequences of information technology. His works have appeared in a variety of journals including MIT Sloan Management Review, Journal of Information Technology, R&D Management, and Information Systems Journal.

What cognitive abilities do you need to sidestep the harmful effects of communication overload?

The human inability to cope with the deluge of digital communications is crippling economic growth. Nearly 30% of a worker’s day is spent on interruptions or recovery time from social media, equating to a $650 billion annual loss in productivity in the USA alone. Studies have also linked communication and information overload to stress, low morale, mental health problems, poor decision-making, and decreased performance. With the rapid increase in volume, velocity, and variety of digital content globally, the communication overload problem is only going to get worse. To enhance productivity and quality of life, it is vital we now evolve and develop the cognitive abilities necessary to combat communication overload. My own research has sought to uncover exactly what cognitive abilities enable people to sidestep the harmful effects of communication overload. In my TechConnect talk, I will present the findings of my studies.