Technology, Data, Relevancy: A Culture-Theoretical Look at the Internet

Abstract

The Internet is a medium that gives access to an unknown amount and quality of knowledge. This knowledge is, moreover, stored in several ways and distributed over several continents. As a potential source for problem-solving, this knowledge cannot be ignored. Clearly enough, the Internet and its users share important characteristics with other socio-cultural systems. Assuming this parallel, three points seem to be particularly interesting: the problem of access, the problem of meaning, and the problem of relevancy. My discussion of these problem areas first with respect to culture in general and then with respect to the Internet seeks both to enlarge the discussion and to substantiate a proposition that opposes the idea of an ”information overload” suggested by the title of this conference. The proposition says: ”Information overload” is a phenomenon of stress. It results, at least partially, from our insistence to cling to solutions determined by what we take to be the very nature of the object itself. As a result, we tend to ignore behavioral strategies that evolved to cope with relevancy problems.