We live in a world that is overflowing with noise. A mutual outbidding of often completely irrelevant information. A competition to get the attention of certain groups of people or the general public. The tendency towards self-promotion is unmistakable in many posts. The information that consumers receive is mostly chaotic.
Buckminster Fuller, the visionary architect, inventor and futurist, estimates that, depending on the field of application, human knowledge is currently doubling in less than six months.i Some estimates are even lower.ii This process is being driven exponentially by the global availability of the internet, mobile computers and, above all, artificial intelligence, data generation and analysis.
On the one hand, human knowledge is growing exponentially. Artificial intelligence, for example, significantly accelerates research processes. But what knowledge – such as methodology and procedures – do we need in order to be able and willing to contribute our talents to future value creation?
Is this knowledge becoming increasingly complex and abstract? Is it perhaps becoming more and more important how we learn, so that we want to learn how to learn in the most effective and efficient way possible, focusing on what brings us the greatest value and satisfaction?
On the other hand, more and more superficial, banal information and trivial things are being communicated and consumed. What do I mean by that? Superficial information is unspecific; it is usually not useful for one’s own learning or in-depth conversation. When I see a news report that a rock star has done something negative, I may feel appalled. But if I see an instructional video on how to play the guitar riffs from that rock star’s best song, then I take that with me. If a so-called reality show star has said something appalling, it may cause a stir, but it is irrelevant. However, if that star explains how she has learned from her behaviour and improved herself, then perhaps we can learn something from that. It’s specific, accurate, applicable.
The production and dissemination of superficial and banal information is supported, among other things, by artificial intelligence. This enables (even more) the mass creation and distribution of clips, posts, songs, news, art and many other types of content by many producers. Often with the simple goal of getting as many impressions, clicks or likes as possible. And these, in turn, are achieved in a world that sees trivial posts as a counterbalance to “stressful everyday life”, primarily by generating, “triggering” emotions. Even when there is no substance.
Are we losing ourselves in the mire of irrelevance because we feel we are losing touch, because we feel overworked and believe we need simple entertainment as compensation? How do these things fit together? This is a matter of considerable debate. First, a brief insight into the technical term “flow” and then my hypothesis.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the great psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of Chicago, who passed away in 2021, inspired and influenced me early on with his groundbreaking work “Flow”. One of his core statements is that the basic state of our brain is chaos. It is only through the ability to structure and organise this chaos that we arrive at constructive and productive thoughts that can bring us joy and happiness. Joy, unlike pleasure, is profound. In relation to work, it means that a person is deeply immersed in something. So deeply immersed that time seems to stand still around them. They are in a tunnel, in what is known as “flow”. The author describes this state as calm, serious and focused.iii
My hypothesis is that the gap between people who want to get into their flow, who want to know more about ‘their’ topic and apply it, and people who do not, is widening. In my experience, whether people are happy with this development for themselves depends largely on their values and attitudes. How did I arrive at this hypothesis and what does it mean for me?
In one of my previous articles, I addressed the topic of people, work and new technologies. Decades old, but more relevant today than ever. For almost 30 years, I have been helping organisations and people to use change to their own advantage.
This naturally requires that new technologies, processes, structures and knowledge, especially technical and organisational matters, are not only accepted but also embraced, practised and applied in a forward-looking, proactive manner. I embrace the new, so to speak, the “other”, perhaps even the additional.
In every part of our lives, we experience the increasing flood of information and communication described above. Not only because today’s information channels make this mass possible from a technical standpoint, but also because the transmission of information and our own communication is often too superficial and excessive: too much banality, too little substance. As we know, we already have our information filter to rigorously sort through the millions of pieces of information that flood our brains every day iv– otherwise we wouldn’t even be able to cross the road without being run over.
But with the exponential increase in the flood of information and communication, this filter is being put under increasing strain. And it is being put under even more pressure by our behaviour. In seminars, for example, I always say: do something different during your breaks than you do in your everyday working life. When a firefighter, construction worker or lorry driver scrolls through their mobile phone during their breaks, it is a change of pace for them. When a call centre employee or team leader who spends eight hours a day in front of a screen does the same, it is no longer a break. It is a burden, an additional strain. The same applies to phone calls for people who make calls for work or long car journeys for people who drive for work.
In our social behaviour, we have often forgotten how to take these breaks. By this, I also mean the private part of our lives. As soon as we sit down on the underground, we look at our mobile phones and scroll through the latest news. As soon as our companion in the restaurant goes to the toilet, we are online. Why do I say social behaviour and not communicative behaviour? Because we often can’t stand the breaks when other people are around us. Because we don’t want to look other passengers in the eye. Because we avoid eye contact or contact because we often want to be alone, because we are overwhelmed by too many people around us or too much noise. And what do we consume then? Trivial information, superficial stories. Or information that frightens us or worries us. Fear is unspecific and causes concern. Anxiety is specifically related to an imminent danger and I can deal with it.
We often complain about stress. About so-called distress, often perceived as negative, in which a person cannot fully adapt to stress factors and the resulting stress and exhibits poorly adapted behaviour.v We feel exhausted, drained. Not only at work, but also in our private lives. , we complain that we work too much. We want more time for ourselves. And we complain that we work too intensively, under too much pressure. We need time. Time to recover. But what do we do with our time?
A study conducted in 2024 found that the average daily television viewing time in Germany is 176 minutes. Three hours. Three hours of a day that, minus work and sleep, is perhaps eight hours long – that’s 37.5%. Now, one could argue that television consumption is declining, which is indeed the case; it has fallen slightly since 2021.vi
But what are we doing instead? According to a Bitcom study, average daily smartphone use rose to 155 minutes in 2025. Compared to TV, that’s only about 32% of our waking leisure time. Among 16- to 29-year-olds, it’s as much as 3.5 hours per day.vii
What does this do to us? We are caught in a paradox. According to a 2024 study by management consultancy Deloitte, half of those surveyed consider their intensive smartphone use to be a burden and even frequently complain of symptoms such as eye strain or headaches. And this is by no means limited to younger age groups. Among the 35 to 44-year-old and 45 to 54-year-old groups, 74% and 60% respectively consider their own usage to be too high. At the same time, almost half of those surveyed estimate that their own smartphone consumption has increased even further in the past year. A key driver is artificial intelligence (AI).viii Almost three-quarters of users in the Bitcom study mentioned above already use AI-supported functions on their devices. Half of them alone pay attention to AI tools for editing images when buying a new smartphone.ix
This is not about demonising artificial intelligence in this context. On the contrary. It is about how we deal with new technology. How we can use it productively for ourselves.
All these studies focus primarily on the quantitative aspects of dealing with new technologies, i.e. how much time we spend with the devices. Time that we then lack for other things. Not only in our leisure time, but also at work. A personal conversation with a colleague can often provide a better understanding of a factual context than AI research in company systems. Why? Because it also contains subjective assessments and associated emotions. Because it provides this context.
But if we also pay attention to the qualitative aspects, then the question arises as to what we use the time in front of the television and on our smartphones for. Here, a clear distinction must be made, and the context is subjective: if I am sitting in the doctor’s waiting room and using the time to research things that will help me in my career, that is also smartphone time or tablet time. But when you see someone parking incorrectly and damaging another vehicle and everyone laughing about it, some people might call that entertaining. One thing is certain, however: it is superficial and offers no added value. Incidentally, if you call it entertainment, the question arises: how do I want to be entertained? What does good entertainment mean to me?
Conclusion: We want to reduce the amount of time we spend in front of the television or on our smartphones. But we obviously can’t manage it. Or at least not to the extent we would like. We set ourselves goals – if at all. And then we don’t implement them. We don’t have a problem with knowledge, we have a problem with implementation.
As I said, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi makes a clear distinction between pleasure and joy. And here, in my opinion, lies a crucial point: if human knowledge doubles in less than a year and growing artificial intelligence significantly intensifies this dynamic, then this will have a major impact on my personal and professional sphere of influence, no matter what I do. This makes the much-cited concept of lifelong learning even more important. Learning does not have to be boring or stressful. Learning can also be playful. The challenge of learning can put people in a state of flow – a state in which they feel joy, sometimes even a little happiness. The now famous ability to learn effectively how to learn comes into play here again.
So how can we know what we need in order to feel joy in all areas of our lives in the future, to get into the zone, to lose ourselves in what we do? How can we absorb this knowledge in a stimulating, motivating and enriching way? And how can we manage to detach ourselves somewhat from the consumption of trivial and superficial information and use the same time to build up the deep, specific, enriching knowledge that will enable us to get into our flow?
And how can we use some of the time we devote to digital media to build connections with other people again? Making conscious eye contact with another passenger on the underground, offering help and a small smile when someone has dropped something. Cooking something together or going to a restaurant instead of ordering delivery while watching your favourite series.
Note: There is a very large and significant block that can put most of us who are in demanding specialist or management roles under a lot of pressure, or indeed already does so. I would like to explore these issues further in the next few articles.
Here are my 10 tips for professionals and managers in light of my hypothesis:
- Start the day by organising the natural chaos in your head. Pause, find some quiet and clarify your priorities. Then stick to them and don’t let yourself be distracted.
- Use your TV and smartphone time for topics and content that you can specifically apply and use for your goals and activities. Use your time proactively and with foresight, act with intention.
- Question how you use your free time for relaxation and personal errands – and help others to do the same for themselves.
- Make sure that you and your employees relax during breaks – by doing things other than work.
- Use the time “among people” to consciously be “among people”.
- Support others and yourself in relearning how to focus and act proactively with intention – instead of being overwhelmed by the flood of information and communication.
- Learn techniques for dealing with the increasing flood of information, filtering out what is useful and enjoyable for you – and also for your employees.
- Learn techniques that will enable you and your employees to learn what you need and want for our AI-supported world in your environment and profession effectively and with reasonable effort.
- Observe yourself and others to see what information you absorb and process through which media and with what attitude. To what extent is the information applicable in your context or does it inspire you to new, productive thoughts? To what extent do you control how you consume information? Is it more of an active search and selection or just passive scrolling?
- Get into your flow and enjoy what you do. More on this in future articles.
Why shouldn’t we, as professionals or managers, as human beings today, be able to achieve this? What do you think? I look forward to hearing your opinion!
Feel free to write to me at info@jmoellerconsulting.com or on www.jmoellerconsulting.com
