Emotions have a significant impact on information behaviour, with Nicole A. Cooke (as cited in Moraine Valley Community College Library, 2019) stating that "information consumption is so much more than people's cognitive processing" (4:45). Underlying emotions affect information seeking, selection, avoidance, and usage. How we feel at certain times affects how we interpret information and receive information at that time. It can determine what information we accept and reject. This page explores some of the ways our emotional connection to information can affect our information behaviour and practice.
According to Cassad (2019) on Britannica.com, confirmation bias is "the tendency to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with one’s existing beliefs. This biased approach to decision making is largely unintentional and often results in ignoring inconsistent information" (para. 1). This means we are more likely to accept information as true that confirms what we already believe about something. It is uncomfortable to encounter and engage with information that is inconsistent with those biases. We all have inherent biases, so we are all susceptible to confirmation bias.This is not to say that everything we believe is false, it simply means that we need to be aware of our biases and how we already feel about things, before we readily accept them as fact. The video below explores this more.
The Cambridge Dictionary defines a filter bubble as "a situation in which someone only hears or sees news and information that supports what they already believe and like, especially a situation created on the internet as a result of algorithms that choose the results of someone searches" ("Filter Bubble," n.d., para. 1) When we are in a filter bubble it plays into confirmation bias, as all we see on a consistent basis are stories and ideas that confirm what we already believe. When what we believe is confirmed, we feel good and are more likely to continue holding that belief, even when it may not be true. We may also start to believe it is the only perspective. The two videos below explore this concept more and explain the importance of not living in our own filter bubbles or echo chambers. In short, it's not easy to live outside that bubble, and stepping out needs to be intentional.
Information Overload is defined by the APA Dictionary of Psychology as "the state that occurs when the amount or intensity of information exceeds the individual’s processing capacity, leading to anxiety, poor decision making, and other undesirable consequences" ("Information Overload, n.d., para. 1). It can also be known as infobesity, information anxiety, or infoxification. Although information overload is not a new idea, it has been exacerbated by the sheer quantity of information available to us online, as well as the facility by which it can be disseminated and accessed ("Information Overload," 2021). Because information overload can result in anxiety and even frightening feelings, it can lead to coping mechanisms such as information avoidance and satisficing. The articles below explore this a little more, as well as some strategies to navigate this common challenge.
Surviving Information Overload by 
Global Data Shock: Strategic Ambiguity, Deception, and Surprise in an Age of Information Overload by Quite simply, information avoidance is avoiding information that is freely available and accessible. According to Narayan et al., (2011), this coping mechanism can be active or passive and is most often motivated by a desire to avoid uncertainty and even anxiety. Because although information can mitigate uncertainty, it can also increase it, especially when it challenges our established ways of thinking. Although at times information avoidance may be necessary so that we can take control of our information environment, it can also prove risky when it comes to avoiding information that can prevent harm or gives the full picture in the face of an important decision (Narayan et al., 2011). The podcast below explores information avoidance more, along with some useful strategies.
Knowledge Resistance in High-Choice Information Environments by 
