A related topic is "information overload." In my work on components of new information behaviors that are recapitulations of existing forms I came across: The Fatal News: Reading and Information Overload in Early Eighteenth-Century Literature by Katherine E. Ellison and here's a bibliographic essay on information overload:. Martin J. Eppler and Jeanne Mengis "The Concept of Information Overload: A Review of Literature from Organization Science, Accounting, Marketing, MIS, and Related Disciplines." The Information Society, 20: 325–344, 2004. Dan Ryan I work at Mills College o 5000 MacArthur Blvd o Oakland, CA 94613 o 510-430-3242 I write at http://djjr.net/papers/index.html I blog at http://soc-of-info.blogspot.com/ I innovate at http://www.innovationexchange.com