--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As recently as the '70s, people were…" description: "\"As recently as the '70s, people were forced to see information that they didn't agree with in newspapers and the like. Now there is so much information..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b1/paul-saffo-10456_age_as-recently-as-the-70s-people-were-force_2756457.jpg" --- # As recently as the '70s, people were forced to see… ![“As recently as the '70s, people were forced to see information that they didn't agree with in newspapers and the like. Now there is so much information you really can build your own walled garden that just has the stuff that reinforces your view. I think it applies to all of us. People are really…” quote by Paul Saffo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b1/paul-saffo-10456_age_as-recently-as-the-70s-people-were-force_2756457.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b1/paul-saffo-10456_age_as-recently-as-the-70s-people-were-force_2756457.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b1/paul-saffo-10456_age_as-recently-as-the-70s-people-were-force_2756457.jpg) > “As recently as the '70s, people were forced to see information that they didn't agree with in newspapers and the like. Now there is so much information you really can build your own walled garden that just has the stuff that reinforces your view. I think it applies to all of us. People are really going into these separate camps, and that's the big social challenge in this age of too much information. How do we crack that and create a common dialogue?” [Paul Saffo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-saffo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The abundance of information enables people to isolate themselves in echo chambers, hindering shared dialogue. **In simple terms:** Too much info lets us hide in our own bubbles. Key Takeaway Encourage diverse media consumption. Themes media society dialogue polarization information overload Mood concerned reflective Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - political debates - social media platforms - community meetings - educational curricula - family discussions Key Concepts echo chambers confirmation bias filter bubbles public discourse digital media Questions to Reflect On - How can we motivate people to seek opposing views? - What structures foster genuine conversation across divides? A Different Perspective Even with diverse sources, personal biases still filter what we accept. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Agree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agree/) [Bigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigs/) [Camps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camps/) [Challenges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/challenges/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Common Dialogue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-dialogue-3137754/) [Cracks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cracks/) [Dialogue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dialogue/) [Forced Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forced-information-3137755/) [Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/garden/) [Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information/) [Information Crack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information-crack-3137756/) [Information Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information-really-556243/) [Newspapers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/newspapers/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social Challenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-challenge-2947887/) [Stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Too much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-much/) [Too much information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-much-information/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) ## Related quotes > [I don’t use a computer. We have too much information and it’s really impossible to filter it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-prokhorov/i-don-t-use-a-computer-we-have-too-much-information-and-it-s-really/) [Mikhail Prokhorov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-prokhorov/) > [We have global communication and yet confrontation is more common than dialogue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/we-have-global-communication-and-yet-confrontation-is-more-common/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Fixing the brain's weak points in preparation for our increasingly complex future is a social challenge as much as a technical one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-johnson/fixing-the-brain-s-weak-points-in-preparation-for-our-increasingly/) [Bryan Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-johnson/) > [For a young cartoonist, they have to get going on the web, because that's where everybody goes for their information. And it really works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mosher/for-a-young-cartoonist-they-have-to-get-going-on-the-web-because-that-2/) [Terry Mosher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mosher/) > [So many people are accustomed to written information that you really have to have a few more bells and whistles in this day and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bell/so-many-people-are-accustomed-to-written-information-that-you-really/) [Chris Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bell/) > [Secrecy is for losers. For people who do not know how important the information really is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-patrick-moynihan/secrecy-is-for-losers-for-people-who-do-not-know-how-important-the/) [Daniel Patrick Moynihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-patrick-moynihan/) > [The only time information is really an edge is if you either have more or you're using it better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-morey/the-only-time-information-is-really-an-edge-is-if-you-either-have/) [Daryl Morey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-morey/) > [Real search is about providing valuable information when it's really needed to those who are actually looking for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-amerland/real-search-is-about-providing-valuable-information-when-it-s-really/) [David Amerland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-amerland/) > [In regards to black people, we have a treasure trove of information that nobody else really has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-johnson-rice/in-regards-to-black-people-we-have-a-treasure-trove-of-information/) [Linda Johnson Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-johnson-rice/) > [The information highway is being sold to us as delivering information, but what it's really delivering is data... Unlike data, information has utility, timeliness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-stoll/the-information-highway-is-being-sold-to-us-as-delivering-information/) [Clifford Stoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-stoll/) > [I definitely think it's important to share my process when it comes to the bottom surgery, because that information really isn't out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazz-jennings/i-definitely-think-it-s-important-to-share-my-process-when-it-comes/) [Jazz Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazz-jennings/) > [I don't feel overwhelmed with information. I really like it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marissa-mayer/i-don-t-feel-overwhelmed-with-information-i-really-like-it/) [Marissa Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marissa-mayer/) > [I think a lot of films do themselves a disfavor by putting in way too much information, and everyone knows what's gonna happen next,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-olsen/i-think-a-lot-of-films-do-themselves-a-disfavor-by-putting-in-way-too/) [Elizabeth Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-olsen/) > [“Too much information creates the same result as too little:”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-allen/too-much-information-creates-the-same-result-as-too-little/) [David Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-allen/) > [There's no mystery any more. So my instinct is to show very little, because there's much too much information about everyone, everywhere right now.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/feist/there-s-no-mystery-any-more-so-my-instinct-is-to-show-very-little/) [Feist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/feist/) ## More by Paul Saffo > [I'm actually an optimist about what lies ahead. Are wikis reliable? It depends on the specific business. Is Wikipedia reliable? You bet. Wikipedia is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-saffo/i-m-actually-an-optimist-about-what-lies-ahead-are-wikis-reliable-it/) [Paul Saffo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-saffo/) > [The thing I see happening is that there's a real compression between generations. There used to be about 20 years difference (in technology use).…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-saffo/the-thing-i-see-happening-is-that-there-s-a-real-compression-between/) [Paul Saffo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-saffo/) > [Never mistake a clearer view for a short distance just because the technology looks like it's about to arrive in the very near future.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-saffo/never-mistake-a-clearer-view-for-a-short-distance-just-because-the/) [Paul Saffo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-saffo/) > [The goal of forecasting is not to predict the future but to tell you what you need to know to take meaningful action in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-saffo/the-goal-of-forecasting-is-not-to-predict-the-future-but-to-tell-you/) [Paul Saffo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-saffo/) > [Though I carry enough electronics to get nervous in a lightning storm, I love paper and I always have a Moleskine journal with me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-saffo/though-i-carry-enough-electronics-to-get-nervous-in-a-lightning-storm/) [Paul Saffo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-saffo/) > [I'm not sure the notion of employee or job is going to survive the transition over the next couple of decades. The very notion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-saffo/i-m-not-sure-the-notion-of-employee-or-job-is-going-to-survive-the/) [Paul Saffo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-saffo/) > [Every day huge amounts of information break off like icebergs and melt away. What worries me is that much information in electronic form is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-saffo/every-day-huge-amounts-of-information-break-off-like-icebergs-and/) [Paul Saffo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-saffo/) > [The value of a social network is defined not only by who's on it, but by who's excluded,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-saffo/the-value-of-a-social-network-is-defined-not-only-by-who-s-on-it-but/) [Paul Saffo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-saffo/) > [Using technology merely to lower operational costs amounts to standing on a whale fishing for minnows. It just allows you to do the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-saffo/using-technology-merely-to-lower-operational-costs-amounts-to/) [Paul Saffo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-saffo/) > [When I lived in Japan in the 1980s, I once was mistaken for Paul Newman, and I didn't have much more hair than I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-saffo/when-i-lived-in-japan-in-the-1980s-i-once-was-mistaken-for-paul/) [Paul Saffo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-saffo/) > [When everybody else is in a down market is focusing on what they're doing wrong, instead focus on what you should be doing differently,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-saffo/when-everybody-else-is-in-a-down-market-is-focusing-on-what-they-re/) [Paul Saffo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-saffo/) > [We do need to rethink privacy. I think we need to fall back on (former Supreme Court Justice) Felix Frankfurter's definition of privacy which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-saffo/we-do-need-to-rethink-privacy-i-think-we-need-to-fall-back-on-former/) [Paul Saffo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-saffo/) > [Each time you toss out a 'singing' greeting card, you are disposing of more computing power than existed in the entire world before 1950.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-saffo/each-time-you-toss-out-a-singing-greeting-card-you-are-disposing-of/) [Paul Saffo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-saffo/) > [I can't imagine how you can find the discipline to be emotionally detached reporting on a revolution, the winds of which are blowing right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-saffo/i-can-t-imagine-how-you-can-find-the-discipline-to-be-emotionally/) [Paul Saffo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-saffo/) > [I live on a canyon at the edge of San Mateo. We are fortunate to have lots of suburban wildlife as our neighbors, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-saffo/i-live-on-a-canyon-at-the-edge-of-san-mateo-we-are-fortunate-to-have/) [Paul Saffo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-saffo/) [Explore all 65 Paul Saffo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-saffo/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? 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That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As recently as the '70s, people were forced to see information that they didn't agree with in newspapers and the like. Now there is so much information you really can build your own walled garden that just has the stuff that reinforces your view. I think it applies to all of us. People are really going into these separate camps, and that's the big social challenge in this age of too much information. 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