I predict that the students at Lester B. Pearson High School will feel overwhelmed when trying to make decisions after experiencing information overload. Their responses to the questions asked during the simulation and a post-experiment survey will be an indicator of this.

Research

What is Information Overload?

Information overload, also known as cognitive overload, occurs when an individual attempts to make a decision and/or complete a task but is burdened with a surplus of information. As technology continues to evolve and imbed itself within our society, information becomes increasingly accessible, meaning individuals may struggle or even fail to make a decision given the abundance of information.

Why is Information Overload an Important Issue?

Information overload can be overwhelming for individuals as they encounter thousands of pieces of information each day. This is especially significant for students, whose phones provide them with an unlimited amount of information that is easily and efficiently accessible. Examples of the challenges information overload creates for students include struggling to complete coursework due to difficulty analyzing a large amount of information, and negatively impacting the social, mental, and physical well-being when burdened with too much information. Information overload may also trigger stress and fatigue in students, leading them to become more irritable or irrational when overwhelmed with information.

Is Information Overload a New Concept?

Information overload is not a new concept. Information overload was also an issue of the past, affecting crucial time periods of human development such as the Renaissance Age and Industrial Revolution. That being said, the term “information overload” was created by political science professor, Betram Gross, in 1964 when he published his work, “The Managing of Organizations”. The current period we live in can be referred to as the “Information Age.” This is because the availability of important information with minimum cost through digital platforms has increased the amount of information received ever in history. Therefore, while information overload has existed in the past, this problem has become more dire to individuals now.

Implications of Information Overload on Mental Health

While information overload impacts all components of an individual's well-being, it is especially important to discuss how this problem affects an individual's mental health. There are four main mental health implications:

1. Development of anxiety and stress. When an individual attempts to interpret all the information they are receiving, they may feel anxious and stressed while doing so, leading them to feel like they are unable to process the information. Also, excessive information can lead to the mind being overwhelmed with confusion and restlessness, inducing various psychological effects, such as depression, irritability, and mood swings.
2. Impeding on sleep. An individual’s dependence on their digital device(s) and desire to always be up to date on information can disrupt their sleep schedule and circadian rhythm. When an individual’s sleep becomes disrupted and they become fatigued, this can elevate their stress levels and upset their mood.
3. Reduced attentiveness. It becomes difficult for an individual to focus on one task at a time when their attention is divided by various distractions. The information overload that is created from numerous sources hinders an individual’s ability to concentrate, impeding their intellectual capabilities. As a result, this may lead to feelings of frustration and a sense of failure, decreasing an individual’s productivity and efficiency in completing their normal, everyday tasks.
4. Insecurity and social comparison. A vast majority of information today stems from social media, specifically pertaining to influencers’ lives. When an individual chooses to compare themselves with others on social media, this may taint their self confidence and create insecurity. This insecurity then leaves an individual feeling dissatisfied and discontent with their own life, negatively impacting their behaviours, relationships, and perception of life.

Implications of Information Overload in Education

Being that information overload significantly impacts teenagers, the educational implications of this issue should also be discussed. There are three primary implications:

1. Information Anxiety. Students can develop anxiety from attempting to filter large amounts of information, and from the fear of failing to acknowledge relevant information.
2. Quality Versus Quantity. Students may engage in superficial learning because they begin to focus more on the quantity of information they are discussing, rather than the quality of it. Consequently, having too much information makes it difficult for students to determine the credibility of the sources they are using.
3. Decreased Attention Span. Interacting with too much information can overwhelm students, decreasing their attention span. It is challenging to focus all of one’s attention on a single topic for a long period of time, impeding their ability to retain information efficiently.

What is the Science Behind Decision Making?

Decision making is the process of the brain analyzing choices and comparing consequences to understand how to approach a situation. There are two primary regions of the brain responsible for decision making. The first region is the prefrontal cortex which is the administrative center of the brain that is responsible for superior thinking processes. This includes decision making, planning, and reasoning. Specifically, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, located inside of the prefrontal cortex, uses prior experiences and future objectives as the basis for analyzing and making decisions. The second region is the limbic system, specifically the amygdala and hippocampus, which examine memories and emotions, that influence the decisions and individual make.

When focusing on decision making in teenagers, understanding when these regions of the brain develop is significant. Every individual is born with a developed amygdala, but their prefrontal cortex is still developing when an individual reaches their teenage years. This indicates that teenagers make emotion-driven decisions, lacking the rationality provided by the prefrontal cortex. This can lead teenagers to misinterpret social cues, act impulsively without thinking, and be less responsive to changing their personal behaviours. Taken together, this highlights that decision making looks different in teenagers, affecting they way they respond to information overload.

It is also important to acknowledge the different circuits and pathways involved in decision making. Decision making is a complex and collective effort arranged by neural circuits interconnected to relay information to one another through neurotransmitters, like dopamine and serotonin. Specifically, dopamine is associated with the expectancy of rewards, forming preferences and affecting the decisions made by individuals. Furthermore, these neurotransmitters regulate mood, reward processing, and motivation, impacting decision making. Also, specific neural pathways are related to different types of decisions. For example, the reward system of the brain is used more intently when making decisions concerning risk and uncertainty.

Strategies to Overcome Information Overload

As information overload becomes increasingly prevalent, individuals, especially students, need strategies to rely on to help them overcome this problem. Some examples are listed below:

• Create goals to focus solely on information that is relevant.
• Refrain from multitasking as it distracts the brain with nonessential demands and information.
• Utilize platforms to record and organize information.
• Take breaks to allow the brain to relax.

Interviews

On Monday, March 10^th, 2025, I had the opportunity to interview two amazing individuals: Dr. Peter Choate, a professor from Mount Royal University, and Dr. Hetty Roessingh, a professor from the University of Calgary. The full set of questions that I asked them can be found in my logbook. Below are the key points from each interview.

Dr. Peter Choate

• Teenagers are exposed to demands outside of the normative curve.
• The input comes from outside of the normative curve (e.g., social media).
• Difficult to hold on to an understanding of self because of cognitive bias.
• Risk taking is about understanding who you are, but we must have self-identified boundaries.
• Bad decisions are made when teenagers take risks to live up to an image or an expectation.
• Teenagers do not fully develop abstract thinking until they are in their late teens to early twenties.
• The less connected kids are to grounded social positioning, the more they’re willing to take poorly thought through risks.
• If you become addicted to social media, you don’t socialize with people – you socialize with images of people.
• In turn, you miss substantial amounts of interactional information.
• If we wait until you are 15, we’ve already allowed the creation of a series of informational and social pathways to develop, and we haven’t done anything to create critical thinking.
• Social media presents to us in such a way that anyone sounding like they know what they’re talking about gets credibility (i.e., misinformation).
• Attention span is dropping, and we want instant answers.
• We don’t want to do the work – we just want the answers.
• We need to slow down the flow of information and create room for reflection.
• Constant flow of information makes us never quite sure because we can’t quite keep up.

Dr. Hetty Roessingh

• We are living in complex times and information overload.
• When you read, listen or see this material, it contributes to anxiety, sadness and even depression.
• There should be broad rules that say these things are appropriate for you and your age group.
• Young adults are not able to fully independently make decisions that are high stakes ones (e.g., driving).
• Cognitive coaching is getting a teenager to just tell themselves to stop and think.
• Peer pressure makes teenagers prone to risky behaviour.
• They can’t override their lack of brain maturity quite yet.
• Critical thinking skills – can you see the signs of misinformation, propaganda, and moral lies?
• You need to ask questions. Is this a reasonable source? Is this a source of information that is trustworthy? When I am reading information on the internet, where am I getting it from? Can I trust this source? You must be aware of bias.
• It is important to recognize mental exhaustion and reduced focus early and put in place structures and supports and ways of taking control.
• Cheating has increased because of an ease of access to information.
• Treatment for feeling overwhelmed – cognitive coaching and recognizing the signs within yourself that you are being overwhelmed, and you may need to seek help.
• Teenagers at large perceive that guidance counsellors at school are helpful and available to help in navigating difficult times.

Variables

Controlled

• The simulation questions the students were asked to answer.
• The post-experiment survey the students were asked to answer.
• The materials the students were asked to use.
• The length of time given to the students to answer the simulation questions and post-experiment survey.

Manipulated

• The length of time given to the students to read the information presented in the simulation video.
• The length and text size of information given to the students in the simulation video.

Responding

• How the students felt when overloaded with information.
• The students’ answers to the simulation questions.
• The students’ responses to the post-experiment survey.

Procedure

• I filled out the Ethics and Due Care Form and it was approved by Calgary Youth Science Fair on February 5^th, 2025.
• I reached out to three Lester B. Pearson High School teachers, Mr. Benjamin Webster, Ms. Narmeen Mithani, and Mrs. Katie Kolar, and asked for their permission to use their students in my experiment.
• I conducted my experiment in early March 2025.
• Details of the experiment:
  • Students were provided with the simulation questions and post-experiment survey.
  • They were required to sign an Informed Consent form to participate in my experiment.
  • After providing the students with a brief introduction of the simulation, I began the simulation video (please see logbook), where they were required to answer questions based on the information presented.
  • To simulate information overload, I presented the students with an increasing amount of information and asked them questions related to that information afterwards.
  • Once all the students completed the experiment, they were given the post-experiment survey to complete.

Simulation Questions

Question One: Based on the information provided, which sport do you believe is more popular?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
Basketball (A)	15	52%
Soccer (B)	14	48%
I don’t know (C)	0	0%

Question Two: Based on the information provided, which sport do you believe is more popular?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
Basketball (A)	16	55%
Soccer (B)	13	45%
I don’t know (C)	0	0%

Question Three: Based on the information provided, which sport do you believe is more popular?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
Basketball (A)	12	42%
Soccer (B)	14	48%
I don’t know (C)	3	10%

Question Four: What are the names of the McDonald brothers?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
Richard and Maurice (A)	29	100%
Laurence and Ray (B)	0	0%
I don’t know (C)	0	0%

Question Five: What type of salesman was Ray Kroc?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
French fry salesman (A)	0	0%
Milkshake machine salesman (B)	26	90%
I don’t know (C)	3	10%

Question Six: Why did Ray Kroc invent Hamburger University?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
To open the first drive-thru college (A)	3	10%
Regulate policies and train staff (B)	25	86%
I don’t know (C)	1	4%

Question Seven: What upcoming test were you notified about to study for?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
Science (A)	5	17%
Math (B)	22	76%
I don’t know (C)	2	7%

Question Eight: What is the most popular food item sold?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
Big Mac (A)	7	24%
Fries (B)	21	72%
I don’t know (C)	1	4%

Question Nine: How many years earlier was the University of Calgary founded in comparison to Mount Royal University?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
43 years (A)	25	86%
66 years (B)	3	10%
9 years (C)	1	4%

Question Ten: Would you rather go to the University of Calgary or Mount Royal University?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
University of Calgary (A)	27	93%
Mount Royal University (B)	2	7%

Question Eleven: What is Mount Royal University’s mascot?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
Tigers (A)	0	0%
Dinos (B)	0	0%
Cougars (C)	29	100%

Question Twelve: Which school assignment is due soon?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
Math (A)	5	17%
Calm (B)	19	66%
I don’t know (C)	5	17%

Question Thirteen: What song was playing?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
DJ Got Us Fallin in Love (A)	4	14%
Eye of the Tiger (B)	15	52%
I don’t know (C)	10	34%

Post-Experiment Survey

Question One: Have you experienced information overload – the feeling of being overwhelmed by excessive information?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
Yes (A)	27	93%
No (B)	2	7%

Question Two: Do you agree that information is everywhere, and it is difficult to filter out what information is accurate and valuable?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
Yes (A)	26	90%
No (B)	3	10%

Question Three: Do you watch TV while you eat?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
Yes (A)	24	83%
No (B)	5	17%

Question Four: Do you listen to music while studying or doing homework?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
Yes (A)	18	62%
No (B)	11	38%

Question Five: Do you find it difficult to formulate your own ideas?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
Yes (A)	11	38%
No (B)	18	62%

Question Six: Is it hard to come up with new ideas when your mind doesn’t have the time to think?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
Yes (A)	24	83%
No (B)	5	17%

Question Seven: Do you experience anxiety when you try to make decisions?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
Yes (A)	20	69%
No (B)	9	31%

Question Eight: Do you have difficulty sleeping because your mind is constantly thinking?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
Yes (A)	16	55%
No (B)	13	45%

Question Nine: Do you feel mentally exhausted?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
Yes (A)	19	66%
No (B)	10	34%

Question Ten: Are you constantly on your phone?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
Yes (A)	18	62%
No (B)	11	38%

Question Eleven: Do you have difficulty focusing on daily tasks?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
Yes (A)	8	28%
No (B)	21	72%

Question Twelve: Do you have difficulty multi-tasking?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
Yes (A)	6	21%
No (B)	23	79%

Question Thirteen: Did you find that the notifications distracted you from focusing on the information presented on the slides?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
Yes (A)	3	10%
No (B)	11	38%
Sometimes (C)	15	52%

Question Fourteen: How difficult was it to make decisions when presented with an increasing amount of information?

Option	No. of Students Selected	% of Students Selected
Easy (A)	7	24%
Difficult (B)	9	31%
I didn’t find it easy or difficult (C)	13	45%

Analysis

The first three questions are deliberately the same to test whether students would feel less confident when asked about their perceived more popular sport as they were incrementally given more information. Students who chose soccer as the most popular sport in the first question did not change their response when asked again in question two or three when given more information. However, 10% of the 52% of students who chose basketball in the first question, changed their answer to “I don’t know” when asked which sport they believed to be more popular in question three. This suggests that for those students, there was additional information given that affected their confidence in committing to their initial answer.

Questions four, five, six and eight were related to the history of the McDonald’s franchise, again with increasing information provided. All students answered question four correct, which had the least amount of information. The majority of students continued to select the correct answers for questions five and six. However, with more information provided in question five, 10% of students answered, “I don’t know.” Similarly, for question six, 14% of students chose incorrect answers. Both questions six and eight had notifications about information unrelated to McDonald’s. By question eight, more students answered incorrectly at 28%.

Question seven introduced the concept of notifications, and how the information in that format is retained. While the students were provided a slide of information on McDonald’s, they received a notification to study for their upcoming math test. 24% of students answered incorrectly to this question, highlighting that when extraneous information is provided, students are less successful in retaining that information. This is particularly important as teenagers commonly receive fleeting information in the form of notifications whether that is on their phone apps, emails etc.

Questions nine to eleven were in the context of Calgary universities. 86% of students answered correctly when asked how many years earlier the University of Calgary was founded compared to Mount Royal University. However, 10% of students answered incorrectly by choosing 66 years. This is important because they were provided with the fact that the University of Calgary was founded in 1966. This suggests that when students are provided with information quickly, they are subject to incorrectly recalling the accuracy of it. It is likely that those 10% of students chose 66 because they recalled those numbers, but did not recognize that they were in the founding year and not the difference between the universities’ founding years. 100% of students were successful in answering what was Mount Royal’s University mascot.

Questions twelve and thirteen, similarly to question seven, tested whether students could correctly recall extraneous information in the form of notifications. 34% and 48% of students incorrectly answered questions twelve and thirteen, respectively. This reinforces that notifications can be very distracting for students.

Following the simulation, students were given a post experiment survey to gather their thoughts on information overload. 93% of students reported that they have experienced information overload. Furthermore, 90% of students found that it is difficult to filter out what information is accurate and valuable. Interestingly, 83% of students answered that they watch TV while eating and 62% selected that they are constantly on their phone. This highlights the dependence that younger generations have on being constantly stimulated with technology. Notably, 69% of students disclosed that they experience anxiety when trying to make decisions and 66% reported that they felt mentally exhausted. This is important as it highlights that we need to improve the way information is conveyed to teenagers to mitigate the risk of anxiety associated with information overload.

The last three questions of the post experiment survey asked specifically about student feelings around the simulation. The majority of students at 62% felt that the notifications were distracting. Only 24% of students felt that it was easy to make decisions when presented with increasing amounts of information. Furthermore, question fifteen asked the students to discuss how they felt when being overloaded with information. My infographic in my results section presents some examples of the specific words and/or sentences the students used to describe their feelings. While all their feedback was important, the most common experience amongst students was being overwhelmed during information overload. This reaffirms the importance of understanding and trying to combat information overload amongst teenagers. It teaches us that youth today have increasing access to information that may be negatively impacting their wellbeing.

I would also like to note that in collecting the results from my experiment, I wanted to compare my findings to other research in this field. Unfortunately, there are not many studies that focus specifically on information overload in teenagers. One relevant study that I was able to identify, however, comes from Aadland & Heinström (2024). Their research focused on conducting qualitive interviews on teenagers between the ages of 13 and 16. They concluded that the students from their sample did face information overload in school, but the most relevant aspect of their research in comparison to my project is how their students felt overwhelmed from this important problem. As addressed previously, the most common feeling experienced by students in my sample was being overwhelmed. This therefore emphasizes the importance of my findings, and calls for further research to be conducted on information overload to promote the well-being of teenagers.

Conclusion

Information overload is an evolving issue that is disproportionally affecting younger generations that have been greatly exposed to more information through the increasing dependency of technology. My hypothesis was correct as the students at Lester B. Pearson High School felt overwhelmed when trying to make decisions after experiencing information overload. Students struggled with notifications and had wavering confidence when asked the same questions and given more information. Overall, this simulation was successful in highlighting how common and easy it is to overwhelm students with information.

Applications & Improvements

As societal reliance and integration of technology will continue to increase, it is imperative that we are aware of the stress that information overload has on teenagers. This awareness can be used to analyze the way we relay information in schools, especially with the increasing prevalence of online classes and modules.

This study would be improved with a greater sample size. It would also be beneficial in the future to compare male and females as there is data to suggest that there are age differences in the development of the prefrontal cortex between sexes and this region of the brain is vital to cognition and decision making.

Sources of Error

The first source of error I can identify from my project stems from potential cheating between students. It is possible that the students were sharing their answers to questions during the simulation, possibly skewing my results. Also, another important source of error stems from the students’ prior knowledge of the topics discussed in my simulation. I intentionally introduced information in my experiment that was relevant to teenagers at my school. In particular, basketball and soccer are popular sports at Lester B. Pearson, we have a McDonald’s right outside of our campus, and the University of Calgary and Mount Royal University are common schools that alumni from my school apply to. Lastly, I believe that an additional source of error may be the environment the experiment was conducted, being that I could not always control for interruptions or distractions during the simulation.

Citations

Aadland, M. G., & Heinström, J. (2024). ‘It never seems to stop:’ Six high school students’ experiences of information overload. Information Research, 29(2), 159–172. https://doi.org/10.47989/ir292830

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. (2017). Teen brain: Behavior, problem solving, and decision making. Retrieved March 21, 2025, from https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/The-Teen-Brain-Behavior-Problem-Solving-and-Decision-Making-095.aspx

Atlantic African Oriental Multicultural Content Team. (2024). The impact of information overload on the education system. Retrieved March 21, 2025, from https://atafom.university/the-impact-of-information-overload-on-the-education-system/#

Brain development: Pre-teens and teenagers. (2024). Retrieved March 21, 2025, from https://raisingchildren.net.au/pre-teens/development/understanding-your-pre-teen/brain-development-teens

Dabir, S. (2024). The Neuroscience of Decision Making. Retrieved March 21, 2025, from https://uwo.ca/se/thrive/blog/2024/the-neuroscience-of-decision-making.html

4 Ways information overload impacts our mental health and how to cope. (2023). Retrieved March 21, 2025, from https://mindfulhealthsolutions.com/4-ways-information-overload-impacts-our-mental-health-and-how-to-cope/#:~:text=The%20constant%20noise%20created%20by,swings%2C%20irritability%2C%20and%20depression.

Information overload. (n.d.-a.). Retrieved March 21, 2025, from https://thedecisionlab.com/reference-guide/psychology/information-overload

Information overload. (n.d.-b.). Retrieved March 21, 2025, from https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/information-overload

Motion Blog. (2023). 9 Effective strategies to conquer information overload. Retrieved March 21, 2025, from https://www.usemotion.com/blog/information-overload

Understanding the Teen Brain. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2025, from https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=understanding-the-teen-brain-1-3051

University Canada West. (n.d.). How to conquer information overload and get more done in less time. Retrieved March 21, 2025, from https://www.ucanwest.ca/blog/education-careers-tips/how-to-conquer-information-overload-and-get-more-done-in-less-time

I would like to begin by thanking all the Lester B. Pearson High School students that participated in my project. I would not have been able to draw the conclusions from my experiment nor spread awareness about information overload in teenagers without them. I would like to also thank Mr. Webster, Ms. Mithani, and Mrs. Kolar for giving me permission to use their students in my experiment. I would like to then thank Dr. Peter Choate and Dr. Hetty Roessingh for taking the time to talk to me and answer my questions. Their responses helped me understand information overload better and how it is a significant issue for youth today. I would also like to give a big thanks to my science coordinator, Mr. Webster. He has supported me throughout the entire duration of my project. Lastly, I would like to thank my parents for always encouraging me and helping me be the best person I can be. Without them, I would not be here today.