Message Fatigue vs. FOMO. How AI Can Help to Solve the Dilemma of Meaningful Communication
In the digital world of today, the internet is easily accessible by everyone. Owing to the ease of accessibility, we all want to keep abreast of the activities that are happening worldwide and stay updated. These activities run the gamut from news and sports updates, political commentary, Business and Economic News headlines to engaging with your friends via social media channels such as Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and Facebook, to name a few. By keeping track of all of these happenings, we subject ourselves to what is commonly referred to as information overload. Effectively, we are drowning under the colossal wave of information that is coming our way online. We spend most of our time online and struggle to spend adequate time with our family at home. In other words, there is no room for any personal space in your life.
On the other end of the spectrum, some people try to considerably reduce their time of engagement in online activities of any sort. In fact, some people go cold turkey altogether and put a self-imposed ban on themselves against online communication. People make this decision so that they can enjoy their personal space and not fall prey to information overload. However, staying clear of the internet and by extension, not keeping yourself updated with the developments happening in the current world culminates in FOMO that is the fear of missing out.
There is a stark conflict between information overload and FOMO, and the majority of the population struggles to strike a balance between these two phenomena.
What Is Information Overload?
The terminology “Information Overload,” also popularly known as information anxiety and infobesity, is the problem you face in gaining understanding about a particular issue and making decisions efficiently when you have a glut of information about that issue. This is the textbook definition of what we call information overload. To put it in layman terms, information overload arises when you are on the receiving end of an excessive volume of information on a daily basis.
The common causes of Information Overload in today’s world include:
- Perpetual creation of large volumes of new information
- The ease and convenience of replicating and sharing information on the internet
- The substantial increase in the mediums through which you receive information: television, radio, print media, social media, email, websites and so forth
- No simple and clear methodologies in place for swift processing and evaluating different information sources
- Large volumes of contradictory and conflicting information available online
To prevent exposure to too much information, modern millennials try to deal with information overload in various ways. Some of these ways include canceling online magazine subscriptions, deleting some of the unnecessary social media accounts, and filtering information that enters your email inbox. However, the plethora of information available online can only be filtered to a certain extent. Hence, these strategies usually prove to be inadequate to deal with the force of information overload.
What Is FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)?
FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is a genuine phenomenon that has become very much prevalent these days. FOMO can affect you negatively and bring about a lot of stress in your life. It is very important to know what FOMO actually is, how to recognize its symptoms in your life, and how to deal with it.
The fear of missing out is the perception or feeling that others around you are living a better quality of life or enjoying themselves more than you are. It involves a sense of spite and envy and negatively affects your self-esteem. The fear of missing out often worsens because of social media, such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. For example, you are left with a feeling of helplessness that you are missing out on a lot of fun when you see pictures of your friends partying during the weekend and having a whale of a time.
If your answer to the following questions is “yes,” then you probably are a victim of fear of missing out:
- Do you fear others have more rewarding experiences than you are?
- Do you get anxious when your friends are having fun without you or if they didn’t invite you to their hangouts?
- Do you get uneasy when you do not know what your friends are doing?
- Do you keep tabs on your friends 24/7?
- Does it bother you when you miss out on an opportunity to rendezvous with your friends?
How Do People Deal With the Dilemma of Information Overload vs. Fear of Missing Out?
Ignoring the Problem Altogether
Some people fail to realize or even ignore that a dilemma between fear of missing out and information overload actually exists. They try to dedicate equal time to both their personal lives and their online activities and simultaneously tend to both the tasks. However, the majority fails to strike a balance between the two, and this eventually results in emotional and mental fatigue. To enhance your personal relationships, it is important to go on digital detox from time to time.
Adopting Time Management Strategies
This is a common technique people use so that they can get the best of both worlds (their personal space and online communication). How this works is that you make a schedule for yourself that indicates how much time per day you will spend interacting with your family and what portion of the day you will use to surf the internet and connect with the outside world. You make sure not to exceed the time limit for either activity. There are several mobile applications that you can use to limit your screen time and as a result, manage your time more effectively.
However, managing your time effectively in this manner requires discipline. This is a positive attribute which most of the members of the current generation lack.
Using Dual Accounts
This is another popular strategy used by millennials. Individuals make separate social media accounts (Whatsapp and Facebook) for work purposes and private communication, respectively. You can use personal groups on Whatsapp for private correspondence with your family members, and workgroups/accounts are used as a medium for official interactions with your colleagues.
You can also switch between these accounts. This enables you to cater to both your personal and professional needs.
Several applications are available on Google Store that facilitate you to effectively manage dual accounts.
How Artificial Intelligence (AI) Based Chatbot Can Resolve This Dilemma?
AI chatbots are the ideal panacea to resolve the dilemma between information overload and FOMO. These chatbots, which make use of machine learning algorithms, are competent enough to bear the brunt of your online activities so that you can spend adequate time with your family. For instance, AI chatbots can correspond with individuals on Facebook Messenger on your behalf. This is very convenient if you are an organization and have to deal with several customer queries daily. The AI chatbot is designed in a manner to entertain all of these queries without your intervention required. Hence, you have more time on your hands to touch base with your relatives and spend quality time with your family. Similarly, AI-based chatbots can connect with all the people in your contact list on your behalf. This saves you the inconvenience of responding to each message individually.
These chatbots can also notify you of all the current activities happening globally so that you stay connected with the outside world at all times, even when you are at home with your family.
Latest Developments in the World of Artificial Intelligence Based Chatbots
The latest trends in the realm of Artificial Intelligence Based Chatbots include
The Rising Popularity of AI Chat Bots
AI voice Bots have gained a lot of traction recently ever since their inception. Text correspondence can often be dull. Hence, voice bots are the perfect solution to engage with your customers interactively and efficiently. Moreover, voice-enabled chatbots enable you to provide real-time and dependable data insights to your consumers. Voice bots offer a more personalized experience that enhances the customer experience.
Automated Payments via AI Chatbots
Allowing users to make payments directly via live chat or Facebook Messenger is one of the latest developments in the realm of AI chatbot technology. This technology is, however, is still in a nascent stage and will take time to be implemented on a comprehensive scale. How this works is that you can purchase your products directly through Messenger. The AI chatbot will facilitate you throughout the entire transaction.
Needless to say, AI chatbot technology will play a pivotal role in the future. It is only in your best interest to make use of this technology to make your life easier and hassle-free. In today’s ever-connected world we long so much to have someone or something that can handle our chats in Messenger so we can treat ourselves to a digital break. AI-based chatbot systems like AIBRO can correspond with your contacts on Facebook Messenger on your behalf, especially when we are busy, on vacation, sleeping or driving your car.
Alternately, you can also use the iMe Messenger. This is an application which allows you to sort out your chats in Telegram more efficiently and offers neurobot-generated phrases you can use as a response.
Apart from AIBRO and iMe Messenger, you can also use other popular AI chatbots and software systems such as Watson Assistant and Bold360 to combat information overload and FOMO.
Watson Assistant is essentially an artificial Intelligence product that allows you to deploy conversational interactions into any device or application. This virtual assistant know when to precisely search for a response from a knowledge base and when to direct users to a human being.
Bold360 is another popular software system. An intelligent customer engagement solution, Bold360 makes use of NLU (Natural Language Understanding) to comprehend your customer’s requirements right from the very first interaction. This intuitive platform provides email, messaging and live chat that makes for a very personalized experience in real time.
