Information Overload
Information Overload is a debilitating condition which results from the consumption of too much information about a given topic. The individual afflicted with Information Overload begins to feel that they understand a thing far less now than they did when they began to study it. Then, when pressed to make a decision or take action on the subject in question, the afflicted individual either A) melts down into a weeping, shuddering ball of anxiety; or, B) decides the only solution to their problem is absorb even more information.
This condition, once relatively unknown in the land of Eden, received worldwide attention in the wake of widespread EdenNet adoption during the Second Age.
Causes
Overconsumption of knowledge, typically without adequate rest or time away from the knowledge source to process the information gathered.
Though the sheer volume of information accessible via the EdenNet did indeed lead to an epidemic of Information Overload in the Second Age, the development of that technology only exacerbated a problem which was already present. The vast stacks of the Edenian Athenæum already provided a wealth of knowledge from over 600 failed iterations of reality, and humanoid species are by their very nature curious to a fault. Information Overload was going to cause problems in Eden, even without the EdenNet. The EN just accelerated the process.
Symptoms
Common symptoms include a glazed-over, dead-eyed stare; bloodshot eyes; self-inflicted hair loss; insomnia; screaming at computing devices; and the hurling of books against walls.
Treatment
The only effective treatment for information overload is time—time to rest, time to walk away, and time to reframe the problem.
Please tell me no actual books were harmed in the making of this article.
No actual books were harmed. Only imaginary books within the confines of my addled mind.