Are You Inundated by Useless Information?

Do you spend more time cleaning out your email than you used to?

The other morning I found myself clicking “delete” for more than an hour. My right hand was killing me. My brand new wireless mouse is worn out. Delete… delete… delete… I am now down to 500 remaining emails that I no longer have the energy to delete. They’ll have to sit there in my in-box for awhile longer I suppose.

And to think that I consider 500 emails “manageable.”

When I first started working I only had office email and the “World Wide Web” was only available on one computer which no one used, because management would think you were slacking off and should be sitting at your cube... looking busy. I remember being told by an IT guy that I was sending too many interoffice emails—and the inference was I wasn’t doing my job!

At the time, I may be sent 100 emails in a week. Who would’ve thought more than a decade later, that society would be using iphones, blackberries, laptops the size of books so that we could all keep up with the vast amounts of needless information that we all think will change our lives?

I can promise you I wouldn’t have believed it if you had told me one day I’d be cleaning out more than 1,000 emails on my Yahoo account. I would’ve told you that you were crazy.

As it turns out, I’m the one who’s crazy. Why? Because I’m cleaning out my email when I could be out enjoying that day or actually “talking” to a friend I haven’t talked to in awhile …you know ... on the phone!

Need to Know vs. Nice to Know

I remember when cleaning out my email meant mostly deleting old jokes passed along from friends that provided a good laugh at the time. Now I find myself deleting email, links, coupons I’ll never use and Facebook updates from friends of friends that I’ve never even met.

I’ll admit I may have given my email address to a store for coupons, or signed up for a particular blog or listserv hoping to “better” my life only to find myself inundated with useless information that will have no affect on my life, my family, my dog... or my dog’s happiness. (Example: Dog.com sent me an email last month suggesting I send her a “Valentine” Really? All she wants is the occasional belly rub and the chance to chase a squirrel once in a while.)

So I delete and delete and delete, thinking once I hit delete I’m done with it. Or, so I thought…

Subscribing to Unsubscribe

Have you ever tried to unsubscribe to a email message/list? Seriously, it's like you have to have to had a perfect SAT score to get off some of these lists! Not only do you have to scroll down to the bottom of the message, you then have to read the 2-point type in order to figure out where to find the “unsubscribe” button.

Once you click—-they send you ANOTHER email hoping that you’ve changed your mind! And if you don’t confirm that you do want to unsubscribe in that email, guess what? You’ll immediately get another email from "Company X" telling you to buy "Product X" that guaranteed to make you beautiful, successful and happy…if you buy it before Midnight tonight.

Who am I, Cinderella?

When I take a step back and look at my life, I’m amazed at how inundated I am with absolutely useless information. It’s everywhere. Radio… TV… Internet. I’m getting to the point where, if you consider yourself a good friend, family member, or colleague and need to get my attention about something important (like life or death) do not email me. Call me.

Maybe I’ll answer.

Dancing for Dough?

So the big news this news cycle isn’t the earthquakes in Haiti or Chile. It isn’t about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The headlines are about Kate Gosselin joining the cast of Dancing with the Stars.

Really, people?

I was talking to a friend of mine about it tonight and I instantly got “Kate” (as her single moniker is now known) confused with the “Octomom.” I guess I just can’t keep my reality TV stars straight (ummm... my bad… I guess).

A Big Brood… So What?

Now, I grew up surrounded around Irish Catholic families and they were breeders, let me tell you. We were surrounded by multiple “Mc’s…” and “Murphy’s” and “O’[insert remaining name here—]. Kids were literally coming out of the woodwork (and apparently their mother’s vaginas every 11 months or so).

There was no reality TV show. There were no book tours. There were no gossip newsstand headlines. There were just a lot of kids. Tons of them. In every grade. On every playground.

So, I don’t understand how these shows like ”Jon & Kate Plus Eight,” “19 Kids and Counting” (what are they up to by the way now…20? 21?) are so popular? When did watching these kids run around, learn to eat, poop and cry become rating bonanzas?
I’m sorry, but if I had 18 Kids … I would go AWOL just to save my sanity. I'm pretty sure my mother would’ve headed for the hills too—just to save her sanity. The woman was barely sane raising three kids—especially with what we put her through!

Dancing for Dough?

Now I understand “Kate” needs to put all those kids through college. I understand if she wanted her own reality show. Ok, at least she’d around her kids while they would be filming. But she went on TV and said she would be “commuting” from eastern Pennsylvania to LA in order to compete on the show.

That’s not commuting. That’s insanity.

She made the decision to leave her kids to build her ego. To cash in on her reality fame. She says she wants to be a role model for her kids. Seriously? Then why don't you try staying home and raising them?

But then I thought, if “Jon” were to do it, would there be as much of a backlash? Absolutely not.

Maybe “Jon” will actually stay home to raise his kids alone. Now that would be a reality TV show I’d watch.