infobesity

English

WOTD – 28 September 2021

Etymology

Blend of info or information +‎ obesity.

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪnfə(ʊ)ˈbiːsɪti/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /ɪnfoʊˈbisɪti/, [-ɾi]
Hyphenation: in‧fo‧bes‧i‧ty

Noun

infobesity (uncountable)

(informal) Synonym of information overload (“the availability or supply of too much information, or a state of stress which results from it”)
Synonyms: infoglut, infoxication
- 2007, Library + Information Update, volume 6, London: Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, ISSN 1476-7171, OCLC 49745474, page 28, column 4:
  [H]ow information professionals can embrace new social networking technologies, and the move from information to knowledge and meaning, as well as the idea of ‘infobesity’.
- 2008 January 15, Anthony Lilley, “Who Controls the Stories?”, in Yumpu‎, Diepoldsau, St. Gallen, Switzerland:
  We live in an age of infobesity. Information overload. Too much choice. You can't stop it – as even the Chinese are finding – by building virtual walls any more.
  A speech given in the author’s capacity as News International Visiting Professor for Broadcast at the University of Oxford: see John Kelly (2009), “Where Next? A Few Predictions”, in Colin Bundy [et al.], editors, Red Kayaks and Hidden Gold: The Rise, Challenges and Value of Citizen Journalism (RISJ Challenges)‎, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford, →ISBN, archived from the original on 2021-06-13, footnote 102, page 46.
- 2009, Kay Withers, First Class?: Challenges and Opportunities for the UK’s University Sector, London: Institute for Public Policy Research, →ISBN, page 96:
  As [Anthony] Lilley (2008) has suggested, we are living in an age of ‘infobesity’.
- 2010, Kevin Duncan, quoting John Naish, “Affluenza, Herds and Quirkology: Mysterious Consumer Behaviour”, in Marketing Greatest Hits: A Masterclass in Modern Marketing Ideas, London: A & C Black Publishers, →ISBN, page 84:
  On the data and information front, he believes we are suffering from infobesity. Too much information causes stress and confusion and makes us do irrational things.
- 2010, Alain Fayolle, Handbook of Research in Entrepreneurship Education: Volume 3: International Perspectives, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire; Northampton, Mass.: Edward Elgar Publishing, →ISBN, page 98:
  This module introduces students to the principles of dematerialization, to the need for perpetual mutation, adaptation and to co-evolution phenomena; to the phenomenon of infobesity, and so on.
- 2011, Florence Devouard, “Collective Intelligence and Business Enterprise 2.0”, in Moira Cockell, Jérôme Billotte, Frédéric Darbellay, and Francis Waldvogel, editors, Common Knowledge: The Challenge of Transdisciplinarity, Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland: EPFL Press, →ISBN, page 36:
  Internet users have access to huge amounts of information. Confronted with infobesity, their attention is rare and volatile.
- 2021, Prasanna Karhade; Abhishek Kathuria; Ojaswi Malik; Benn Konsynski, “Digital Platforms and Infobesity: A Research Agenda”, in Aravinda Garimella [et al.], editors, The Role of e-Business during the Time of Grand Challenges: 19th Workshop on e-Business, WeB 2020 Virtual Event, December 12, 2020 (Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing; 418), Cham, Zug, Switzerland: Springer Nature, DOI:10.1007/978-3-030-79454-5, →ISBN, ISSN 1865-1348, page 71:
  As digital platforms continue to grow, it also gives rise to infobesity and the problem of plenty which can undermine the platforms' performance.

Translations

synonym of information overload — see information overload

infobesity

English

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Translations

See also

Further reading