Mass Consumption in America Also Includes Information
Ridiculed worldwide for overconsumption and its related and very visual obesity epidemic, Americans also consume another valuable commodity on a massive scale each year: information. A fascinating study by UC San Diego reveals that in 2008 Americans consumed 3.6 zettabytes and 10,845 trillion words, corresponding to 100,500 words and 34 gigabytes for an average person on an average day. This estimate pulls together new and old media and, interestingly enough, does not include workplace information.
Home Information Consumption
One of the gems pulled from all of this data is that, contrary to popular belief, the explosion of available visual media is no longer curbing the American appetite for reading. The study says that since 1980 reading has tripled as an information reception method, largely due to the fact that the web is causing people to read more rather than less.
