How can we counter informational obesity?

Question: What is the Bhagavad-gita perspective on the concept of informational obesity, where people consume large amounts of information that overloads the brain, just as excessive food can overload the body?

Answer:
This is, to a large extent, a distinctly modern issue. With the advent of technology, we now have unprecedented access to information. While the Gita doesn’t directly mention this problem, it provides a framework through which we can analyze it. Here are three key points that offer a Gita-based lens for understanding and addressing informational obesity:

Is it relevant?
In Gita 18.22, Krishna talks about knowledge in the mode of ignorance as that which is narrow and fragmented—knowing one thing and thinking we know everything. This leads not to clarity but to illusion.
Today, we are surrounded by an endless stream of information. But the first question to ask is: Is this relevant to me? Of course, it’s good to stay informed, but even good things need boundaries. Neil Postman, a well-known social critic, states in his book Amusing Ourselves to Death the idea of the “information-action ratio”—what am I doing with the information I’ve received? If we’re consuming information only to keep up appearances or out of fear of looking ignorant, we may be feeding an inner anxiety rather than nourishing our understanding.

Is it balanced?
The second question is: Am I getting a holistic view? Information is not just about quantity but also about quality and balance. Social media algorithms often feed us information that aligns with our past preferences, creating an echo chamber that reinforces existing biases. As a result, the more we read, the narrower our vision can become. In such cases, information doesn’t lead to wisdom—it deepens our ignorance by filtering out alternative perspectives. A balanced diet of viewpoints is as essential for intellectual health as a balanced meal is for physical health.

Is it assimilated?
The third and most important question is: Am I assimilating what I’m consuming? Just as the body needs time to digest food, the mind needs time to process and internalize knowledge. After consuming a piece of content—a video, a lecture, or an article—can we articulate its main points in our own words? Can we connect it with our existing understanding or apply it to our lives? Or are we merely collecting snippets that inflate our ego or trigger our emotions without enriching our comprehension?

A simple practice is: if we spend 10 minutes reading something, we can take 2 minutes afterward to summarize its essence mentally or in writing. This reflection helps convert information into insight.

(These three points can be remembered using the acronym BAR: Balanced, Assimilated, Relevant.)

This shift can transform our consumption of information so that it doesn’t burden us, but empowers us.