What Today’s Communications Leaders Can Learn from the First Age of Information Overload

I like to play a game while riding the subway: what percentage of the train’s riders are looking at their phones versus something analog, like reading a book or newspaper? The answer is almost always the same: more than 80% are absorbed in their pocket supercomputers, processing immense amounts of information attached to expansive digital worlds. We live in an era of incredible information abundance; it’s estimated that we’re producing 402 terabytes of information daily. 

But my subway game also makes me think about the other side of abundance: the relentlessness of modern life, the vertigo of constant updates, and the challenge of managing information diets for parents, professionals, and businesses trying to reach their audiences. How do communications firms help clients navigate this saturation?  

That question is on my mind as Narrative Strategies expands to New York City, a city that has always mirrored America's attentional landscape. It's the right place to discuss the evolution of communication technologies and their impacts on information flow, which are reshaping our understanding of the world.  

The early years of the 20th century were also marked by exploding information growth. High-speed rotary presses and new typesetting machines made print media incredibly cheap. Newspapers began to cover all aspects of life, cultivating new audiences, and circulation skyrocketed—Americans were buying three newspapers per day in 1910. 

Add in radio and early motion pictures, and the early 20th century resembled a gigantic ocean of new information. People complained of excitement mixed with exhaustion, sensing that the media could warp reality as much as it reflected it. Austrian critic Karl Kraus noted that the media didn’t just report on modern anxieties; it manufactured and multiplied them for profit. These concerns echo contemporary critics' writing on social media. Jonathan Haidt argues, "The [smart] phone-based life produces spiritual degradation, not just in adolescents, but all of us." 

So what should communications firms (and their clients) do differently in this era of infinite information? Key lessons include: 

• Abandon the fantasy of universal reach. Just as newspapers learned to serve niches, today’s most effective campaigns focus on precise communities of influence rather than chasing mass awareness. 

• Study information flow, not just message craft. Innovative firms map influence networks like urban planners study traffic, tracking bottlenecks and intersections where the right voice matters more than the loudest one. 

• Build for persistence, not just virality. The goal isn’t to win attention once, but to become a trusted signal amid the noise. This requires long-term relationship building, not one-off campaigns. 

• Embrace the reality that attention is now the only true luxury good. The most valuable currency isn't impressions; it's genuine engagement and trust from the right people, emphasizing quality over quantity.  

Reading about an earlier era of information onslaught is enlightening but challenging. Adapting to essentially infinite, on-demand information is tough, especially in a society-wide experiment to build new communication modes. Those who understand these historical patterns and today’s information pathways will best shape what comes next. That's where Narrative comes in.