Seen & Heard: Orange Seeks to Cure Digital Infobesity

There's no doubt that we live in an increasingly digital world, but too much of anything -- whether it's chocolate, small batch whiskey, energy drinks, or Ryan Lochte -- is bad.

Along those lines, Orange has come up with a collaborative platform, the Digital Society Forum , that is taking a hard look at the effects of digitalization, including the ability to concentrate.

A study by TNS Sofres found that people between the ages of 16 and 30 spend nearly three hours a day on their smartphones, mainly on social networks and watching videos. Anyone who lives with a teenager has witnessed firsthand the almost total immersion in social media; games; and videos via smartphones, tablets and other connected devices.

According to Orange, all of the selfies, notifications, tweets, "likes," posts and live streams have created the phenomenon of "infobesity." The cure for infobesity is using digital tools correctly, which includes taking breaks by setting down or walking away from those devices.

All of which brings to mind the Telco Transformation blog by Oregon Telecom General Manager and CEO Joseph Franell where he questioned whether people were using the Internet responsibly. (See Is the Internet Living Up to Its Potential?)

As service providers that connect all of the devices and services, Orange and Franell are both looking beyond their respective bottom lines by conversations on the ramifications of living in a digital world. In this case, as Mae West is reputed to have said, "Too much of a good thing is wonderful."

— Mike Robuck, Editor, Telco Transformation