---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What information consumes is rather…"
description: "\"“What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f3/jocelyn-k-glei-4186_data_what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvi_1523610.jpg"
---

#  What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes…

![“What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” quote by Jocelyn K. Glei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f3/jocelyn-k-glei-4186_data_what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvi_1523610.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f3/jocelyn-k-glei-4186_data_what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvi_1523610.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f3/jocelyn-k-glei-4186_data_what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvi_1523610.jpg)

> ““What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.””

[Jocelyn K. Glei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Glei notes that abundant information drains attention, creating a scarcity of focus for recipients.

**In simple terms:** Too much info steals our focus.

Key Takeaway

Limit information intake to protect attention.

Themes

information overload attention focus productivity

Mood

concerned instructive

Type

practical advisory

When to use this quote

- workplace
- learning
- media consumption

Key Concepts

cognitive load digital distraction mindfulness

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you balance information richness with focus?
- What habits protect your attention?

A Different Perspective

The claim may ignore benefits of diverse information.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Data](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/)

## Related quotes

> [“What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence, a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvious-it-consumes-the-attention-4/)

[Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/)

> [What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-a-simon/what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvious-it-consumes-the-attention-2/)

[Herbert A. Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-a-simon/)

> [What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvious-it-consumes-the-attention/)

[Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/)

> [“Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/hence-a-wealth-of-information-creates-a-poverty-of-attention/)

[Jocelyn K. Glei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/)

> [A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-wealth-of-information-creates-a-poverty-of-attention/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Back in the seventies, Herbert Simon, the Nobel-winning economist, took these inchoate sentiments and explained them rigorously: “What information consumes is rather obvious. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/back-in-the-seventies-herbert-simon-the-nobel-winning-economist-took/)

[Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/)

> [“In an information-rich world, the wealth of information means a dearth of something else: a scarcity of whatever it is that information consumes. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/in-an-information-rich-world-the-wealth-of-information-means-a-dearth-2/)

[Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/)

> [“Herbert Simon, the Nobel-winning economist, took these inchoate sentiments and explained them rigorously: “What information consumes is rather obvious. It consumes the attention of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/herbert-simon-the-nobel-winning-economist-took-these-inchoate/)

[Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/)

> [“In an information-rich world, the wealth of information means a dearth of something else: a scarcity of whatever it is that information consumes. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-a-simon/in-an-information-rich-world-the-wealth-of-information-means-a-dearth/)

[Herbert A. Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-a-simon/)

> [“The busy lives people lead in the technologically driven culture that consumes our attention often produce a multitasking frenzy of activity that leaves people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-siegel/the-busy-lives-people-lead-in-the-technologically-driven-culture-that/)

[Daniel J. Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-siegel/)

> [Affluence creates poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/affluence-creates-poverty/)

[Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/)

> [“In India, about half of all poor households do not have a BPL (below-poverty-line) card and about one-third of the non-poor (under the rules)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/in-india-about-half-of-all-poor-households-do-not-have-a-bpl-below/)

[Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/)

> [I think that the use of copyright is going to change dramatically. Part of it is economics. There is just going to be so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-dyson/i-think-that-the-use-of-copyright-is-going-to-change-dramatically/)

[Esther Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-dyson/)

> [“A wealth of information means a poverty of attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/a-wealth-of-information-means-a-poverty-of-attention/)

[Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/)

> [Information is money, but data is squat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-llama-butler/information-is-money-but-data-is-squat/)

Angela Llama-Butler

## More by Jocelyn K. Glei

> [“We are all works in progress. Each day presents an opportunity to learn more, do more, be more, and grow more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/we-are-all-works-in-progress-each-day-presents-an-opportunity-to/)

[Jocelyn K. Glei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/)

> [“Truly great creative achievements require hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of work, and we have to make time every single day to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/truly-great-creative-achievements-require-hundreds-if-not-thousands/)

[Jocelyn K. Glei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/)

> [“continuous partial attention,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/continuous-partial-attention/)

[Jocelyn K. Glei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/)

> [“99U’s Manage Your Day-to-Day assembles insights around four key skill sets you must master to succeed: building a rock-solid daily routine, taming your tools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/99u-s-manage-your-day-to-day-assembles-insights-around-four-key-skill/)

[Jocelyn K. Glei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/)

> [“All of the most fulfilled people I know focus more on the quality of their connections than the quantity of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/all-of-the-most-fulfilled-people-i-know-focus-more-on-the-quality-of/)

[Jocelyn K. Glei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/)

> [“people have a really bad habit of coming in and checking e-mail first thing in the morning. And for many people, the morning is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/people-have-a-really-bad-habit-of-coming-in-and-checking-e-mail-first/)

[Jocelyn K. Glei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/)

> [“when folks want to talk creativity, what they’re really seeking is help with execution, ways to take action more effectively.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/when-folks-want-to-talk-creativity-what-they-re-really-seeking-is/)

[Jocelyn K. Glei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/)

> [“THE MULTITASKING MYTH Studies show that the human mind can only truly multitask when it comes to highly automatic behaviors like walking. For activities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/the-multitasking-myth-studies-show-that-the-human-mind-can-only-truly/)

[Jocelyn K. Glei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/)

> [“The next time you experience a creative block, resist the temptation to doubt yourself, or to put in more blind effort. Stop and ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/the-next-time-you-experience-a-creative-block-resist-the-temptation/)

[Jocelyn K. Glei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/)

> [“What I do every day matters more than what I do once in a while.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/what-i-do-every-day-matters-more-than-what-i-do-once-in-a-while/)

[Jocelyn K. Glei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/)

> [“The idea that the best way to communicate with people is 24/7 is not really an idea about maximizing productivity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/the-idea-that-the-best-way-to-communicate-with-people-is-24-7-is-not/)

[Jocelyn K. Glei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/)

> [“Limit your daily to-do list. A 3” × 3” Post-it is perfect—if you can’t fit everything on a list that size, how will you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/limit-your-daily-to-do-list-a-3-3-post-it-is-perfect-if-you-can-t-fit/)

[Jocelyn K. Glei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/)

> [“I never schedule meetings in the morning, if I can avoid it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/i-never-schedule-meetings-in-the-morning-if-i-can-avoid-it/)

[Jocelyn K. Glei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/)

> [“Follow your passion” is bad advice. I reached this conclusion after spending a year researching a basic question: What makes people love what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/follow-your-passion-is-bad-advice-i-reached-this-conclusion-after/)

[Jocelyn K. Glei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/)

> [“For his book Willpower, psychologist Roy Baumeister analyzed findings from hundreds of experiments to determine why some people can retain focus for hours, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/for-his-book-willpower-psychologist-roy-baumeister-analyzed-findings/)

[Jocelyn K. Glei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/)

[Explore all 114 Jocelyn K. Glei quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/)

## More Data quotes

> [Information is money, but data is squat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-llama-butler/information-is-money-but-data-is-squat/)

Angela Llama-Butler

> [“ data analytics consulting Perceptive Analtyics is a data analytic company and a trusted advisor to its clients across domains. Click to know more”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastianmax/data-analytics-consulting-perceptive-analtyics-is-a-data-analytic/)

SebastianMax

> [The information nation took their clues from all the sound bite gluttons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem/the-information-nation-took-their-clues-from-all-the-sound-bite/)

[REM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem/)

> [Sometimes I am a collector of data, and only a collector, and am likely to be gross and miserly, piling up notes, pleased with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/sometimes-i-am-a-collector-of-data-and-only-a-collector-and-am-likely/)

[Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/)

> [But actually theory is very practical. Gravity is a theory, for example. It allows you to predict that if you step off a cliff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/but-actually-theory-is-very-practical-gravity-is-a-theory-for-example/)

[Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/)

> [Statistics are like miniskirts: They give you good ideas but hide the important things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebbe-skovdahl/statistics-are-like-miniskirts-they-give-you-good-ideas-but-hide-the/)

Ebbe Skovdahl

> [Unlike return, however, risk is no more quantifiable at the end of an investment that it was at its beginning. Risk simply cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/unlike-return-however-risk-is-no-more-quantifiable-at-the-end-of-an/)

[Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/)

> [Finding patterns is easy in any kind of data-rich environment; that's what mediocre gamblers do. The key is in determining whether the patterns represent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/finding-patterns-is-easy-in-any-kind-of-data-rich-environment-that-s/)

[Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/)

> [ \[Brazil\] went to the UN and said, "We need new standards for this." We need to take a look at what they're calling "data… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/brazil-went-to-the-un-and-said-we-need-new-standards-for-this-we-need/)

[Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/)

> [We're living in a technological world. You cannot tell me we can't do a better job getting that information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-re-living-in-a-technological-world-you-cannot-tell-me-we-can-t-do/)

[Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/)

> [Web users ultimately want to get at data quickly and easily. They don't care as much about attractive sites and pretty design.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/web-users-ultimately-want-to-get-at-data-quickly-and-easily-they-don/)

[Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/)

> [You cannot have 300-some million Americans - and really, right, the global citizenry be at risk of having their phone conversations intercepted with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/you-cannot-have-300-some-million-americans-and-really-right-the/)

[Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/)

> [An important finding is that by determining the genome sequences of an entire family, one can identify many DNA sequencing errors and thus greatly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-hood/an-important-finding-is-that-by-determining-the-genome-sequences-of/)

[Leroy Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-hood/)

> [While it's wonderful that investors have access to all the data now available to them, it has become a full-time job to sift through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-bartiromo/while-it-s-wonderful-that-investors-have-access-to-all-the-data-now/)

[Maria Bartiromo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-bartiromo/)

> [“The amount of stored information grows four times faster than the world economy, while the processing power of computers grows nine times faster. Little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-mayer-sch-nberger/the-amount-of-stored-information-grows-four-times-faster-than-the/)

[Viktor Mayer-Schönberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-mayer-sch-nberger/)

[Browse all 3,134 Data quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jocelyn K. Glei"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvious-it-consumes-the-attention-3/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Data"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvious-it-consumes-the-attention-3/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f3/jocelyn-k-glei-4186_data_what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvi_1523610.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f3/jocelyn-k-glei-4186_data_what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvi_1523610.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f3/jocelyn-k-glei-4186_data_what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvi_1523610.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of…” — Jocelyn K. Glei",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Jocelyn K. Glei",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“What information consumes is rather obvious:...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvious-it-consumes-the-attention-3/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvious-it-consumes-the-attention-3/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
