EverydaySpy Podcast - That Awkward Phase of High School and Presidential Elections

Episode Date: November 3, 2020

There is a pattern to information. You have seen the pattern in your everyday life, from high school to today, because it is human nature. And you are about to see the final phase of the pattern all over headlines and media. In this episode, Andrew describes the information phase know as 'information overload' and how it is used to deceive you to steal your attention. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My name is Andrew Bustamante, and this is everyday espionage. Ghi and I were at dinner this week with a friend, and the friend made a comment about how excited she was for today, November 3rd, the day that America chooses the next U.S. president. Our friend said she was excited because after today, she expected all the ads and the news and the social media election noise to just stop. Now, I love my wife, but honestly, Honestly, her poker face around friends and family is basically non-existent. And I could see her slowly turning her head left and right, even as our friend was excitedly talking about her high hopes after the election.

Jehi was unintentionally shaking her head, no, accidentally disagreeing during the entire conversation because she knew something that our friend did not know. And what Ghi knew was that the real election noise hasn't even started yet. Today is just the first day of the next phase. In the world of espionage and information mastery, we call this next phase information overload. Now there's a pattern to the way people share information, and the pattern is pretty simple. Hopeful information always goes first. We saw hopeful information started about a year ago. then fearful information comes next.

That started in about June. And then you see promises, which started in about September and October. But the final phase, the phase that's coming up next, is guessing. And while every phase of the pattern has information, only the final phase guessing is unique because of an effect known as information overload. Now at CIA, we jokingly call this phase InfoBee. or infoxication, because information overload is a term that specifically references the point at which information in a system overruns the system's ability to process the information correctly. Now, with hope and fear and promises, information is intentionally limited, so it can be processed and shared easily.

But in the final phase, the purpose of the information is to overwhelm the system. Now, I'm not talking about foreign meddling or covert influence. What I'm talking about is pure human nature. Remember that time that you asked your parents to let you go to that big party in high school? Now, first, you had hope, and you just asked, can I go? But they said they weren't really sure. Then you had fear. So you said, I don't want to be the only one that isn't there.

But still, your parents didn't budge. Then you started making promises. I promise I'll be back by midnight. I swear there won't be any booze or any drugs. I promise I'll take out the trash for a week. But when your parents still didn't say yes, you just started blathering anything and everything that came to mind. You used guilt, you begged, you cried, you would yell, you used threats, you name it.

I did the same thing. We weren't trying to give our parents time to process or think through facts. We were just trying to break them down. We were trying to break the system. Media is just like you and me and every other high school teenager. So we got to get ready for the tantrum that's about to begin. Now, in 2000, after the Bush-Gore election, the race was so contested that it took 36 days and a Supreme Court ruling before the candidate Al Gore finally conceded the race.

This year won't be any different than that. and the massive disruption to normal voting from COVID-19 virtually promises confusion and ongoing debate before the presidency is finally conceded. But I'm not really here to talk about why this election is different than others. What I want to focus on specifically is what you are about to experience in terms of information mastery. Now, the 24-hour news cycle already knows that they will not be able to tell you the winner of the 2020, the election on November 4th. They know it. But they still want the ratings and the advertising income that's going to come from a hungry, worried voting public. They have no incentive to tell you what they don't know. So instead, they're going to move into the final information

phase of the election, the guessing phase, information overload. And they are going to turn that information overload. They're going to use it in a desperate effort to keep your attention for as long as possible. Now, I want you to avoid the infobesity that America is about to experience, and we'll probably continue to experience throughout November and into December. And I want to do that by giving you a few tools I learned at CIA to counteract information overload. Now, tool number one is simple. First and foremost, you don't have to listen to all the information that's out there. What you're about to hear for the next few days and weeks is election, rejections, not election results. So unless you care about some pundance projections, I suggest you

just turn off the news. Instead, binge watch Netflix with your family or tuck into that new book that you've been putting off. Because while everyone else is wasting time listening to useless guessing, you will have the opportunity for hours of productivity and quality family time. The second tool is to give yourself what's called a news update schedule. Now, a news updates schedule is simply that. It's simply a schedule where you get news updates. The 24-hour news cycle will always be there. But that doesn't mean you have to listen to it at all hours of the day and night. Instead, give yourself one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening. Pick convenient times that work for you as windows to check in and see what's going on. Like I said, there will not

be a lot of new information coming in over the next few weeks as votes are officially counted and finalized. So you only really need to check in once in a while. In the end, you'll be just as informed as everyone else in the country, but you won't have wasted your time and your energy. The third tool is my personal favorite. This is the perfect time to take a social media vacation. Now, it blows my mind to say this, but more than 70% of Americans get their news from social media. And that means that your social media feed is about to turn into its own news network for the coming days and weeks. If you're anything like me, most of what you see on social media is opinion driven by anger or just utter ridiculousness. So unless that type of interaction gives you energy or brings you peace

of mind, it's the perfect time to just mute your notifications and put your phone face down on the table. These are the same three tools that I used right beside the same. the world's most elite intelligence services to avoid information overload. And those three tools are simple. One, don't feel like you have to keep up with every new piece of information. You can ignore information. Two, put yourself on an information schedule, a news update schedule. And three, go ahead and ditch social media for a while.

Make a temporary commitment to just turn it off. Even this podcast that you're listening to right now is contributing to the information overload that's happening with the elections. I know that, and I own my piece of the noise. And for that reason, I am going to stop talking right now. I'm going to keep this episode short. I'm going to wish you all luck with this year's election. And no matter who the next president is,

remember that we have the freedom to choose how we spend our time, where we put our effort, and who we want to lead us. And that is Everyday Espionage. Everyday espionage is dedicated to one thing, educating everyday people. I know that not everyone will listen, but those who listen will learn. If you learned something new today, click subscribe, review, and share the podcast with a friend. Find me on social media at EverydaySpy or on my website, Everydayspy.com. If you are up for a special challenge, visit Everydayspy.com forward slash operations.

and join me for an authentic spy training mission. And above all else, remember that knowledge is freedom.