Information overload, infobesity, cognitive saturation syndrome... The Observatoire Société et Consommation (ObSoCo), Arte and the Fondation Jean-Jaurès have conducted a survey to understand the effects on individuals of the multiplication of information channels, their profusion and their transformation in the way they are produced. They subjected a sample of French people to detailed questioning designed to understand both their difficulty in sorting information and their perceived degree of stress and fatigue in the face of its flow.

Profound changes in information practices

For a majority of French people, it is important to be regularly informed in the media (59%). For one French person out of five, it is even "very" important (20%). However, the ways of doing so have changed considerably in a few years.

Today, to get information, they use an average of 8.3 different channels and 3.2 daily. Three channels dominate: the 1 p.m. or 8 p.m. television news (89% generally get their information from it), social networks (83%) and radio (82%). To which should be added the significant use of some of the most recent formats, such as podcasts, independent or alternative media.

In total, and if we aggregate the importance given to it, the intensity of media consultation, but also active practices, 29% of French people show a strong commitment in the consumption of information, 49% a medium commitment, 22% a weak commitment.

35% of French people admit that they have to make an effort to be properly informed

In this context of fragmentation and multiplication of uses, 35% of French people admit that they have to make an effort to be properly informed, including one in ten who say they make a "great deal" of effort. This difficulty is experienced more by the youngest (48%) and those who want to be informed regularly (49%).

53% of French people suffer from " information fatigue

From the statistical aggregation of the responses to this survey, it appears that 53% of French people say they suffer from information fatigue, of which 38% - more than a third! - suffer from it "a lot". Conversely, 19% say they are "not very tired" and 28% "not at all tired".

On average, nothing seems to fundamentally distinguish the most tired from the rest of the population. Their uses appear to be similar to the others. They consult slightly more media (8.6 for 8.3 in total), are slightly more used to social networks (65% for 61% of the whole) and to digital media in general.

On the other hand, the most tired are more active in their relationship with the information: 48% share it (compared to 40% overall), 34% comment on it online (compared to 29%), 9% send letters to the presenters or call the radio programs (6%).

Five profiles

A complementary statistical analysis allows us to identify five profiles. These are distinguished both by their commitment to information consumption and by the degree of information fatigue they say they experience.

• The "hyperconnected and exhausted" (17% of the population): "This profile includes mostly young, urban and educated people who consume a lot of media, especially via the Internet and social networks where they are relatively active. They are also characterized by very intense, even compulsive, information practices and are strongly affected by information fatigue.
• The "oppressed defiers" (35% of the population): "This profile is more female, with a modest standard of living and an average commitment to information, but with the feeling of being subjected to it, of having difficulty forming an opinion, of feeling overwhelmed by the information. Very affected by this situation, people in this group are often looking for alternatives (fact-checking). They feel intense information fatigue and are also characterized by a very strong distrust of the media.
• The "hyperinformed and in control " (11% of the population): "Older, more male, this profile brings together people who are often retired and well-to-do, who have an intense informational practice, especially with traditional media, who are very much in control and not exposed to fatigue.
• The "distant defiers" (18% of the population): "This profile is rather male, more from modest categories and has a fairly average commitment to information practices. Individuals from this group express a strong distrust of the media and politics, but a fairly strong confidence in themselves. They are very negative about the collective situation (the world, society, democracy), have a strong feeling of powerlessness and the impression of being subjected to it, of not having freedom and control over their future.
• The don't know/not concerned (20% of the population): "Inhabitants of the suburbs and sparsely populated towns, they are middle-aged working people with children. They consume little information. They are neither engaged in the search for information, nor are they affected by a form of fatigue in this regard. They lead their lives and are relatively satisfied with them. They are not at all interested in politics, do not feel represented without being defiant.

Between protection strategies...

Faced with the flow of information, protection strategies are beginning to be put in place at the individual level. Thus, 53% of French people say that they sometimes turn off their cell phone notifications, including more than a quarter (27%) regularly. In addition, 30% sometimes force themselves not to turn on the television, 27% monitor their screen time. Another way to regain control: 12% say they consult fact-checking sites. Each of these strategies is practiced more by the most tired.

...and risk of withdrawal

More impressive, because more radical and more massive: 77% of French people declare that they sometimes limit or stop consulting information, including 28% regularly. And this is the case for 90% of the most tired.

This withdrawal is motivated primarily by debates that they consider too controversial and aggressive (34%), the unreliability of information (32%) and the negative impact on their mood or morale (31%). Lack of interest comes next (25%), as does the time it takes (14%). "It is also interesting to note that for 16% of those who drop out, the fact that the media does not report on what they experience and their opinions plays a role."

A democratic issue

This information fatigue, to which one French person out of two is exposed, " contributes to stifle critical and intellectual processes. It can also generate processes of searching for alternative information at all costs, but also and especially the feeling of not understanding anything, as well as the risk of simply giving up being informed ". In this sense, this information fatigue results from but also contributes to nourish the democratic fatigue of the French, analyzed in many studies.

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