什么是“信息污染”？

在電腦前工作的時候會時不時刷新一下微博？在某個網站注冊登錄過一次之后，就會經常收到他們的推廣郵件？在信息無處不在的時代，信息污染也已經隨處可見了。

Information pollution (also referred to as "info pollution") is the contamination of information supply with irrelevant, redundant, unsolicited and low-value information. The spread of useless and undesirable information can have a detrimental effect on human activities. It is considered one of the adverse effects of the information revolution.

信息污染（information pollution或info pollution）指信息源被大量無關的、多余的、強行介入的低價值信息所浸染的現象。那些無用和不受歡迎的信息傳播會對人類行為產生不利影響。

The majority of the modern descriptions of information pollution apply to computer based communication methods, such as e-mail, instant messaging (IM) and RSS feeds. People use information in order to make decisions and adapt to circumstances. Yet, cognitive studies have demonstrated that there is only so much information human beings can process before the quality of their decisions begins to deteriorate. The excess of information is commonly known as information overload and it can lead to decision paralysis, where the person is unable to make a judgment as they cannot see what is relevant anymore. Although technology has clearly exacerbated the problem, it is not the only cause of information pollution. Anything that distracts our attention from the essential facts that we need to perform a task or make a decision could be considered an information pollutant. (Source: Wikipedia)

現在所說的信息污染大部分都與基于計算機的通訊方式有關，比如電子郵件、即時通訊和RSS訂閱。人們使用信息的目的是為了做出決策和因地制宜。但與此同時，認知領域的研究也發現，人類在做正確高效的決策時只能處理一定量的信息。信息超載會導致決策機制癱瘓，因為人類在接收到大量信息后已經無法分辨哪些信息是與其決策相關的。雖然各類技術使得信息超載問題更加嚴重，但技術并不是產生信息污染的唯一誘因。任何使我們從完成任務和作出決策所需的基礎事實上分神的因素都可被稱為信息污染源。

相關閱讀

網頁打開太慢導致“網怒”

職場的“信息超載綜合征”

你曾被“信息焦慮”困擾嗎？

什么是“培根郵件”？

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯：丹妮）

點擊查看更多英語習語和新詞