Identifying factors of online news comments

Bawden and Robinson (2009) state: “[t]here is no single generally accepted definition of information overload. The term is usually taken to represent a state of affairs where an individual's efficiency in using information in their work is hampered by the amount of relevant, and potentially useful, information available to them.” (pp. 182-183) We concentrate on the subjective dimension of information overload, defining it as: distress associated with the perception that there is too much information. We utilize psychometric scale development procedures to measure information overload and correlate it with demographic and psychological variables. Our poster reports preliminary findings that information overload is correlated significantly with gender (being female); age and year in college (positively); and measures of life satisfaction (negatively).