People are receiving their information in parts and pieces nowadays. The growing trend is away whole works in favor of quick information in bits and pieces. Yes, perhaps quantity over quality. In this article from NPR, We Are Just Not Digging the Whole Anymore by Linton Weeks, many experts weigh in on this phenomenon. Some people say that "cognitive overload; information paralysis; techno stress; and data asphyxiation" (some of the terms dealing with the overabundance of information) cost us our attention spans. For example, if people receive most of their information from Twitter, they may have trouble sitting down and reading a whole book.
Adam Thierer, though, believes that this is not making us stupid or decreasing our love of books. Instead, it's the price we pay for an overabundance of information: not as much time to spend reading, viewing, and consuming informational wholes. Others believe the pendulum will swing back and people will long for the whole. We'll see.
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