The Information Diet

In an age of unprecedented data abundance, Clay A. Johnson diagnoses a modern malaise: information obesity. We are, he argues, gluttonous consumers of digital content—emails, social feeds, videos, news alerts—that is often as nutritionally empty as junk food, leaving us intellectually malnourished and politically polarized. The problem is not merely volume but the engineered nature of our consumption, where algorithms serve us a tailored diet of affirming, engaging, and frequently inflammatory content that confirms our biases rather than challenging our minds.

The book constructs its case by examining the economic incentives of 'Big Info,' the industrial-media complex that profits from our attention. Johnson details how platforms, from cable news to high-traffic websites, optimize for clicks and engagement, often at the expense of truth or depth. This creates a vicious cycle where consumers seek comfort and affirmation, and providers deliver precisely that, leading to entrenched filter bubbles and a erosion of shared factual reality. The proposed solution is not abstinence but a conscious, disciplined diet.

Johnson’s methodology is prescriptive, advocating for the development of 'data literacy' and 'attention fitness.' He guides the reader toward becoming a savvy information forager—learning to identify quality sources, cross-reference claims, and understand the provenance of data. Crucially, he argues for intentional ideological diversity in one's media intake to break the hold of partisan echo chambers.

Ultimately, The Information Diet is a civic-minded manifesto for the digital citizen. It targets anyone feeling overwhelmed by the news cycle, trapped in online arguments, or concerned about societal fragmentation. Its legacy lies in framing personal media consumption not as a passive habit but as an ethical and intellectual practice with profound implications for individual sanity and democratic resilience.

The consensus finds a compelling core premise—the analogy of information to food—that is brilliantly insightful yet imperfectly executed. Readers praise its vital warnings about confirmation bias and the toxic economics of attention-driven media. However, a significant faction criticizes the book for veering into extended political commentary, which feels tangential to the promised focus on broader digital addiction, making the latter sections seem unbalanced and narrowly focused on news consumption.