Inspired by the phrases ‘ignorance is bliss, ‘Tis folly to be wise’, and my experiences with knowledge and wisdom, I attempted to seek an answer to this intriguing phenomenon of our curiosity and desire for information despite the potential detrimental impact on our wellbeing and happiness.
Inspired by the phrases ‘ignorance is bliss, ‘Tis folly to be wise’, and my experiences with knowledge and wisdom, I attempted to seek an answer to this intriguing phenomenon of our curiosity and desire for information despite the potential detrimental impact on our wellbeing and happiness.
Photo by Gaelle Marcel
Photo by Gaelle Marcel
It is a rather maddening paradox that information can both be a curse and a blessing. On one hand, information is a blessing as it satisfies our natural tendency to seek information and remove uncertainty – epistemic curiosity (Kidd & Hayden, 2015). On the other hand, discovering unpleasant news or being overloaded with information could be a curse through the resulting stress and unhappiness.
I define happiness as a feeling of pleasure or sense of satisfaction experienced by an individual, which arises from an object or situation. Regarding the other terms in this essay, knowledge is an understanding and collection of information and wisdom is the ability to make judgements about, and use the knowledge gained (Scuderi, 2020). I will analyze the interaction between happiness and knowledge from two perspectives – acquiring wisdom and surviving in the digital age. I believe that increasing one’s knowledge usually results in unhappiness, but that the outcome mainly depends on how the knowledge is perceived and used.
Wisdom and (un)happiness
The phrase ‘ignorance is bliss’ has always intrigued me as it seems like an odd statement to make considering people’s natural curiosity. Why would people have this thirst for knowledge if being ignorant is a better state? The answer may lie in people’s apparent wish to avoid uncertainty, which drives their motivation to know more (Litman, Hutchins, & Russon, 2005), regardless of the (possible) consequent unhappiness (Hsee & Ruan, 2016). In this piece I assume the stance that wisdom is obtained after gaining a wealth of information, and experience with applying one’s knowledge (Frické, 2019). I believe that the resulting happiness or unhappiness is determined by the nature of the knowledge one seeks and their level of wisdom – in terms of how one views and uses information.
It appears that one’s want for information trumps their desire for happiness. According to the study by Hsee and Ruan (2016), the need to quell one’s feelings of uncertainty persists, even with the knowledge that they may face unpleasant consequences. For example, in the study by Kruger and Evans (2009), regardless of whether the participants were complimented or ridiculed, they were equally eager to know what others said about them. The insults would cause nothing but unhappiness to the individual and yet, people still pursued such knowledge. It could be said that people are choosing fleeting happiness in appeasing their curiosity, over a longer-lasting happiness in ignorance. Perhaps, people do this because they underestimate the consequences of learning the information they seek (Kruger & Evans, 2009). As such, in the long run, people will almost always encounter unhappiness in their pursuit of knowledge as they disregard the consequences and utility of the information they seek.
“Information useful in preventing future unhappiness could justify the immediate unhappiness that may arise.”
However, even if knowledge inevitably results in unhappiness, one’s wisdom can secure future happiness – if the knowledge is viewed and used with the aim of achieving happiness. For instance, after experiencing hardships, individuals may be more appreciative of life and show gratitude for the good in their lives (Weststrate & Glück, 2017). On the other hand, if the person unwisely uses their hardship as an excuse to wallow in self-pity, they are unlikely to achieve future happiness. In addition, gaining more information, while unpleasant and upsetting at times, may result in better outcomes than remaining ignorant. Knowledge and wisdom can effect changes to prevent a more disastrous outcome. For instance, upon learning that one has developed cancer, medical measures can be implemented to restore the body to its healthy state. This is in comparison to being ignorant about the disease until the body succumbs to an early death. Therefore, information useful in preventing future unhappiness could justify the immediate unhappiness that may arise. Overall, the cost of unhappiness in one’s pursuit of knowledge could be offset by the utility of the information. The utility value depends on the way one views and uses the information.
Some people (willingly or unwillingly) block out the harsh realities of life and only focus on the positive aspects, refusing to seek out beneficial but potentially upsetting information. According to Mill (1863), people may be tempted by inferior pleasures (e.g. smoking or doing drugs) and jeopardize their attainment of higher pleasures (e.g. academic or musical pursuits) in the process of achieving inferior, more accessible pleasures. I believe that the lack of a complete understanding of life may maintain one’s happiness, but this is a superficial form of happiness. A realistic view of life, understanding both the positive and negative aspects of it, may encourage individuals to aim for a richer sense of happiness such as delving into cultural and artistic appreciation. As such, I argue that one should aim to gain more knowledge about the world as it is ‘better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied’ (Mill, 1863, p. 2), where one will have more awareness about the pain of the world, but also a deeper sense of appreciation.
In conclusion, it is likely that people will experience unhappiness in their pursuit of wisdom, but unhappiness need not be the ultimate outcome. First off, a person can try to avoid unhappiness by being more selective of the information one seeks – information that is useful and adds value to one’s life. If the person chooses to seek unfiltered information, they still have control over how they view and use the information, which influences the outcome of attaining happiness or not. In my opinion, to be wise is to understand some depth of both pain and pleasure. I believe the pain is temporary and once endured, it results in greater happiness.
Happiness and Knowledge in the Digital Age
Currently, we have all kinds of information available at our fingertips – more information than we have time to process. It’s not hard to imagine the unhappiness that could arise from the stress of having endless amounts of information trying to squeeze through the front door of your brain, while you try to sort the relevant from the irrelevant. Besides that, the content of the information being shared can also make us unhappy if we compare ourselves to others or view their success with envy. Considering these points, gaining more information could result in happiness if the information is received willingly, at one’s desired pace, and utilized to improve oneself rather than lower one’s morale.
This problem of modern-day information overload is two-fold. Firstly, the internet has made it easier for information to be shared and accessed (Allen & Wilson, 2003). Secondly, it’s societal pressures that turned this sharing of information into an information overload. For instance, there is an expectation for people to keep up with the latest information, to remain relevant at work (for example, knowing how to improve customer engagement by taking a course on Search Engine Optimization; Wadors, 2016) and engage in conversations with others. Even without this expectation, information overload also arises from the information forced upon us. For example, through the increasing number of advertisements that pop-up on websites such as the ones we scroll by on Instagram – which previously doubled their number of advertisements (Bent, 2019). The processes needed to sort and retain a large amount of information in a short period of time could cause a cognitive strain (Malhotra, 1984), which could result in stress and unhappiness. As such, it is no surprise that information overload negatively impacts one’s psychological wellbeing (Swar, Hameed, & Reychav, 2017).
“People should reduce their consumption of information as the act itself is causing unhappiness.”
This information overload is known to cause bad decision-making (Rogers, Puryear, & Root, 2013), and unhappiness. Infobesity is the consumption of excessive information which has made some of us more indecisive and decreased our ability to concentrate (Maxwell, 2014). It is proposed by Awuor, Kwanya, and Nyambok (2019) that people skim through pages of information in their attempt at gaining more information, but as a result, fail to fully understand the content. People get lost in the vastness of the data available, and the opposing views they encounter. This makes it difficult for them to accurately assess the information and situation to make good decisions. In addition, for those with infobesity, there is a compulsion to remain connected with the information online – for example, the need to reply to messages immediately (Kwanya, 2016). The compulsion to stay connected on social media results in fatigue which can negatively impact one’s psychological wellbeing (Dhir, Yossatorn, Kaur, & Chen, 2018). As such, people should reduce their consumption of information as the act itself is causing unhappiness. In addition, the information cannot be used to achieve happiness if it cannot be understood.
While social media platforms have contributed to this information overload, it also has a more insidious aspect to it. On these platforms, users are constantly updated on anything from current affairs to celebrity news, advertisements and the personal lives of their friends. Whether willing or unwilling, you are audience to a never-ending movie marathon of information, and you must be there, don’t you? It’s true that one can choose not to partake in social media, but this may result in experiencing a fear of missing out (FOMO), which causes unhappiness (Przybylski, Murayama, DeHaan, & Gladwell, 2013). This is where the insidious aspect arises, through the detrimental psychological effects of the information gained. People may feel jealous or socially excluded when viewing photographs of others enjoying themselves (Reagle, 2015). This is no surprise, as being included and having a sense of belonging are also integral aspects of happiness, as supported by the positive relationship between happiness and a sense of belonging (Leung, Kier, Fung, Fung, & Sproule, 2013). We want to remain in the loop, to connect and be liked by others, because it makes us happy, but in order to do so we face unhappiness from information overload and the insidious effect of some information. Ultimately, it boils down to how one views this information (with envy or with happiness for others) and how one uses this information (to validate feelings of exclusion or to motivate oneself to work towards being able to do the activities others do).
The ease of sharing information and obtaining information has resulted in new psychological phenomena such as infobesity and FOMO. It is unpractical to disconnect from the abundance of information as people need to stay relevant to meet their social and work needs. However, it is possible to reduce the effects of information overload by changing the way one views the information and slowing down the information in-take. Through these two approaches, one may be able to better utilize the huge database of information available.
Summing it up
Overall, whether happiness is attained through knowledge depends on the way the knowledge is viewed and used. One can choose to view the information encountered positively or negatively, which will result in either happiness or unhappiness. Even if unhappiness is encountered in one’s pursuit of knowledge, the temporary unhappiness can be used to secure future happiness in circumventing misfortunes or maximizing the happiness gained from exercising one’s autonomy. Therefore, I believe that while one may encounter unhappiness when seeking knowledge, it is still necessary to seek information.
Ultimately, the route to achieving happiness is subjective to the individual. Some place emphasis on knowledge and autonomy, while others may place more emphasis on physical contributions, such as volunteer work and philanthropy. I believe that the root of happiness is knowledge as it affects how one views things. Through personal experience, I find that the unhappiness I experience can be made better or worse depending on the way I view the situation. Therefore, my concluding advice is to try and make the best of every situation and information encountered. <<
References
– Allen, D., & Wilson, T. D. (2003). Information overload: context and causes. The New Review of Information Behaviour Research, 4(1), 31-44.
– Autonomy. (n.d.). Retrieved on 11/1/20 from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/autonomy
– Awuor, A. S., Kwanya, T., & Nyambok, G. A. (2019). The Influence of Infobesity on the Information Seeking Behaviour of Undergraduate Students in Tangaza University College. Digital Technologies for Information and Knowledge Management, 278-286.
– Bent, K. (2019, August 27). Instagram will now show twice as many adverts – here’s why. Retrieved on 19/4/21 from https://www.scotsman.com/read-this/instagram-will-now-show-twice-many-adverts-heres-why-492431
– Dhir, A., Yossatorn, Y., Kaur, P., & Chen, S. (2018). Online social media fatigue and psychological wellbeing—A study of compulsive use, fear of missing out, fatigue, anxiety and depression. International Journal of Information Management, 40, 141-152.
– Frické, M. (2019). The knowledge pyramid: the DIKW hierarchy. Knowledge Organization, 46(1), 33-46.
– Hsee, C. K., & Ruan, B. (2016). The Pandora effect: The power and peril of curiosity. Psychological Science, 27(5), 659-666.
– Iyengar, S. S., & Lepper, M. R. (2000). When choice is demotivating: Can one desire too much of a good thing?. Journal of personality and social psychology, 79(6), 995.
– Kidd, C., & Hayden, B. Y. (2015). The psychology and neuroscience of curiosity. Neuron, 88(3), 449-460.
– Kruger, J., & Evans, M. (2009). The paradox of Alypius and the pursuit of unwanted information. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45(6), 1173-1179.
– Kwanya, T. (2016, October 26). Beware of ‘infobesity’. Retrieved on 31/1/20 from https://www.nation.co.ke/oped/opinion/beware-of-infobesity/440808-3431248-8v5bk6z/index.html
– Leung, A., Kier, C., Fung, T., Fung, L., & Sproule, R. (2013). Searching for happiness: The importance of social capital. Journal of Happiness Studies, 12(3), 443-462.
– Litman, J., Hutchins, T., & Russon, R. (2005). Epistemic curiosity, feeling-of-knowing, and exploratory behaviour. Cognition & Emotion, 19(4), 559-582.
– Malhotra, N. K. (1984). Reflections on the information overload paradigm in consumer decision making. Journal of Consumer research, 10(4), 436-440.
– Maxwell, K. (2014). Infobesity. Retrieved on 21/1/20 from: https://www.macmillandictionary.com/buzzword/entries/infobesity.html.
– Mill, J. S. (1863). Utilitarianism. London: Parker, Son, and Bourn, West Strand.
– Przybylski, A. K., Murayama, K., DeHaan, C. R., & Gladwell, V. (2013). Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(4), 1841-1848.
– Reagle, J. (2015). Following the Joneses: FOMO and conspicuous sociality. First Monday, 20(10).
– Rogers, P., Puryear, R., & Root, J. (2013, June 11). Infobesity: The enemy of good decisions. Retrieved from 31/1/20 from https://www.bain.com/insights/infobesity-the-enemy-of-good-decisions/
– Scuderi, R. (2020, January 6). What Are the Differences Between Knowledge, Wisdom, and Insight?. Retrieved on 10/1/20 from https://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/what-are-the-differences-between-knowledge-wisdom-and-insight.html
– Swar, B., Hameed, T., & Reychav, I. (2017). Information overload, psychological ill-being, and behavioral intention to continue online healthcare information search. Computers in Human Behavior, 70, 416-425.
– Wadors, P. (2016, March 7). To Stay Relevant, Your Company and Employees Must Keep Learning. Retrieved on 31/1/20 from https://hbr.org/2016/03/to-stay-relevant-your-company-and-employees-must-keep-learning
– Weststrate, N. M., & Glück, J. (2017). Wiser but not sadder, blissful but not ignorant: Exploring the co-development of wisdom and well-being over time. The Happy Mind: Cognitive Contributions to Well-being, 459-480.
It is a rather maddening paradox that information can both be a curse and a blessing. On one hand, information is a blessing as it satisfies our natural tendency to seek information and remove uncertainty – epistemic curiosity (Kidd & Hayden, 2015). On the other hand, discovering unpleasant news or being overloaded with information could be a curse through the resulting stress and unhappiness.
I define happiness as a feeling of pleasure or sense of satisfaction experienced by an individual, which arises from an object or situation. Regarding the other terms in this essay, knowledge is an understanding and collection of information and wisdom is the ability to make judgements about, and use the knowledge gained (Scuderi, 2020). I will analyze the interaction between happiness and knowledge from two perspectives – acquiring wisdom and surviving in the digital age. I believe that increasing one’s knowledge usually results in unhappiness, but that the outcome mainly depends on how the knowledge is perceived and used.
Wisdom and (un)happiness
The phrase ‘ignorance is bliss’ has always intrigued me as it seems like an odd statement to make considering people’s natural curiosity. Why would people have this thirst for knowledge if being ignorant is a better state? The answer may lie in people’s apparent wish to avoid uncertainty, which drives their motivation to know more (Litman, Hutchins, & Russon, 2005), regardless of the (possible) consequent unhappiness (Hsee & Ruan, 2016). In this piece I assume the stance that wisdom is obtained after gaining a wealth of information, and experience with applying one’s knowledge (Frické, 2019). I believe that the resulting happiness or unhappiness is determined by the nature of the knowledge one seeks and their level of wisdom – in terms of how one views and uses information.
It appears that one’s want for information trumps their desire for happiness. According to the study by Hsee and Ruan (2016), the need to quell one’s feelings of uncertainty persists, even with the knowledge that they may face unpleasant consequences. For example, in the study by Kruger and Evans (2009), regardless of whether the participants were complimented or ridiculed, they were equally eager to know what others said about them. The insults would cause nothing but unhappiness to the individual and yet, people still pursued such knowledge. It could be said that people are choosing fleeting happiness in appeasing their curiosity, over a longer-lasting happiness in ignorance. Perhaps, people do this because they underestimate the consequences of learning the information they seek (Kruger & Evans, 2009). As such, in the long run, people will almost always encounter unhappiness in their pursuit of knowledge as they disregard the consequences and utility of the information they seek.
“Information useful in preventing future unhappiness could justify the immediate unhappiness that may arise.”
However, even if knowledge inevitably results in unhappiness, one’s wisdom can secure future happiness – if the knowledge is viewed and used with the aim of achieving happiness. For instance, after experiencing hardships, individuals may be more appreciative of life and show gratitude for the good in their lives (Weststrate & Glück, 2017). On the other hand, if the person unwisely uses their hardship as an excuse to wallow in self-pity, they are unlikely to achieve future happiness. In addition, gaining more information, while unpleasant and upsetting at times, may result in better outcomes than remaining ignorant. Knowledge and wisdom can effect changes to prevent a more disastrous outcome. For instance, upon learning that one has developed cancer, medical measures can be implemented to restore the body to its healthy state. This is in comparison to being ignorant about the disease until the body succumbs to an early death. Therefore, information useful in preventing future unhappiness could justify the immediate unhappiness that may arise. Overall, the cost of unhappiness in one’s pursuit of knowledge could be offset by the utility of the information. The utility value depends on the way one views and uses the information.
Some people (willingly or unwillingly) block out the harsh realities of life and only focus on the positive aspects, refusing to seek out beneficial but potentially upsetting information. According to Mill (1863), people may be tempted by inferior pleasures (e.g. smoking or doing drugs) and jeopardize their attainment of higher pleasures (e.g. academic or musical pursuits) in the process of achieving inferior, more accessible pleasures. I believe that the lack of a complete understanding of life may maintain one’s happiness, but this is a superficial form of happiness. A realistic view of life, understanding both the positive and negative aspects of it, may encourage individuals to aim for a richer sense of happiness such as delving into cultural and artistic appreciation. As such, I argue that one should aim to gain more knowledge about the world as it is ‘better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied’ (Mill, 1863, p. 2), where one will have more awareness about the pain of the world, but also a deeper sense of appreciation.
In conclusion, it is likely that people will experience unhappiness in their pursuit of wisdom, but unhappiness need not be the ultimate outcome. First off, a person can try to avoid unhappiness by being more selective of the information one seeks – information that is useful and adds value to one’s life. If the person chooses to seek unfiltered information, they still have control over how they view and use the information, which influences the outcome of attaining happiness or not. In my opinion, to be wise is to understand some depth of both pain and pleasure. I believe the pain is temporary and once endured, it results in greater happiness.
Happiness and Knowledge in the Digital Age
Currently, we have all kinds of information available at our fingertips – more information than we have time to process. It’s not hard to imagine the unhappiness that could arise from the stress of having endless amounts of information trying to squeeze through the front door of your brain, while you try to sort the relevant from the irrelevant. Besides that, the content of the information being shared can also make us unhappy if we compare ourselves to others or view their success with envy. Considering these points, gaining more information could result in happiness if the information is received willingly, at one’s desired pace, and utilized to improve oneself rather than lower one’s morale.
This problem of modern-day information overload is two-fold. Firstly, the internet has made it easier for information to be shared and accessed (Allen & Wilson, 2003). Secondly, it’s societal pressures that turned this sharing of information into an information overload. For instance, there is an expectation for people to keep up with the latest information, to remain relevant at work (for example, knowing how to improve customer engagement by taking a course on Search Engine Optimization; Wadors, 2016) and engage in conversations with others. Even without this expectation, information overload also arises from the information forced upon us. For example, through the increasing number of advertisements that pop-up on websites such as the ones we scroll by on Instagram – which previously doubled their number of advertisements (Bent, 2019). The processes needed to sort and retain a large amount of information in a short period of time could cause a cognitive strain (Malhotra, 1984), which could result in stress and unhappiness. As such, it is no surprise that information overload negatively impacts one’s psychological wellbeing (Swar, Hameed, & Reychav, 2017).
“People should reduce their consumption of information as the act itself is causing unhappiness.”
This information overload is known to cause bad decision-making (Rogers, Puryear, & Root, 2013), and unhappiness. Infobesity is the consumption of excessive information which has made some of us more indecisive and decreased our ability to concentrate (Maxwell, 2014). It is proposed by Awuor, Kwanya, and Nyambok (2019) that people skim through pages of information in their attempt at gaining more information, but as a result, fail to fully understand the content. People get lost in the vastness of the data available, and the opposing views they encounter. This makes it difficult for them to accurately assess the information and situation to make good decisions. In addition, for those with infobesity, there is a compulsion to remain connected with the information online – for example, the need to reply to messages immediately (Kwanya, 2016). The compulsion to stay connected on social media results in fatigue which can negatively impact one’s psychological wellbeing (Dhir, Yossatorn, Kaur, & Chen, 2018). As such, people should reduce their consumption of information as the act itself is causing unhappiness. In addition, the information cannot be used to achieve happiness if it cannot be understood.
While social media platforms have contributed to this information overload, it also has a more insidious aspect to it. On these platforms, users are constantly updated on anything from current affairs to celebrity news, advertisements and the personal lives of their friends. Whether willing or unwilling, you are audience to a never-ending movie marathon of information, and you must be there, don’t you? It’s true that one can choose not to partake in social media, but this may result in experiencing a fear of missing out (FOMO), which causes unhappiness (Przybylski, Murayama, DeHaan, & Gladwell, 2013). This is where the insidious aspect arises, through the detrimental psychological effects of the information gained. People may feel jealous or socially excluded when viewing photographs of others enjoying themselves (Reagle, 2015). This is no surprise, as being included and having a sense of belonging are also integral aspects of happiness, as supported by the positive relationship between happiness and a sense of belonging (Leung, Kier, Fung, Fung, & Sproule, 2013). We want to remain in the loop, to connect and be liked by others, because it makes us happy, but in order to do so we face unhappiness from information overload and the insidious effect of some information. Ultimately, it boils down to how one views this information (with envy or with happiness for others) and how one uses this information (to validate feelings of exclusion or to motivate oneself to work towards being able to do the activities others do).
The ease of sharing information and obtaining information has resulted in new psychological phenomena such as infobesity and FOMO. It is unpractical to disconnect from the abundance of information as people need to stay relevant to meet their social and work needs. However, it is possible to reduce the effects of information overload by changing the way one views the information and slowing down the information in-take. Through these two approaches, one may be able to better utilize the huge database of information available.
Summing it up
Overall, whether happiness is attained through knowledge depends on the way the knowledge is viewed and used. One can choose to view the information encountered positively or negatively, which will result in either happiness or unhappiness. Even if unhappiness is encountered in one’s pursuit of knowledge, the temporary unhappiness can be used to secure future happiness in circumventing misfortunes or maximizing the happiness gained from exercising one’s autonomy. Therefore, I believe that while one may encounter unhappiness when seeking knowledge, it is still necessary to seek information.
Ultimately, the route to achieving happiness is subjective to the individual. Some place emphasis on knowledge and autonomy, while others may place more emphasis on physical contributions, such as volunteer work and philanthropy. I believe that the root of happiness is knowledge as it affects how one views things. Through personal experience, I find that the unhappiness I experience can be made better or worse depending on the way I view the situation. Therefore, my concluding advice is to try and make the best of every situation and information encountered. <<
