SPOILER ALERT: Is there a downside to instant information?

By: Mary LaMagna-Reiter, GIS Analyst

First off, my apologies to anyone who may be sick and tired of all of the Olympics coverage. But honestly, the London Olympics is all I’ve lived and breathed in my time off the last week or so. This happens every four years in the summer, and sometimes in the intervening Winter Games too: I turn into a complete Olympic junkie.

This year, however, my Olympic addiction has been at odds with almost every mode of modern, digital technology. No Internet browsing for fear that I will run into results before I’ve had a chance to see an event. No Facebook until then too for fear that one of my friends will post the day’s results in their status update. And having to issue stern warnings to all co-workers and family members who are receiving updates on their iPhones to not divulge any information.

In a lot of situations, having access to real time information is great. Real-time tracking of deliveries has revolutionized the way we do business. Twitter, Facebook, and other social media have given the world unprecedented access to recent protest movements and society-changing events. And is it really fair to ask Olympians, who are 6 hours ahead of those of us in the Central Time Zone, not to Tweet their happiness of performing well in an event or their disappointment in a poor performance?

It’s probably not. The simple truth is that instant communication and information have become engrained into society and culture. Those of us who still enjoy spending an evening around the TV watching the Olympics will have to adapt… So please, don’t tell me what happened at the Games today.

P.S. SPOILER ALERT – If you ARE following Olympic events in real-time, check out this nifty interactive Olympic Medal Count map: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/01/olympic-medals-map-gdp_n_1729090.html?icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl6|sec3_lnk3%26pLid%3D187586. It shows each country’s Olympic haul along with that country’s wealth and population. It’s an interesting way of looking at Olympic performance. And it’s updated every time medals are awarded!