Information Management

I have been struggling for quite some time at work and in my life with the amount of data and information that plays before my senses on a daily basis. The year I was born found my parents living in a house with 1 single line analog phone, 1 Black & White T.V. and a couple radios. The T.V. had a pair of rabbit ears on it and on a good day picked up 4 stations. (ABC, NBC, CBS & PBS)

Fast forward 42 years and in my house I have 1 single line analog phone, 2 900Mhz cordless phones with a digital answering machine. I have 4 color T.V.'s 3 of which are connected to our cable subscriber. Our cable subscriber offers 100's of channels including digital music, and on-demad movies. I have a personnal computer connected via broadband to the Internet and a wireless router so that my laptop from work can connect. Through my Internet Service Provide my family has access to 4 individual e-mail accounts. I have 4 cell phones as well one for each family member. My house has an intercom system that allows AM/FM radio reception and we have 5 or 6 various AM/FM/Cassette/CD portable stereo's. Finally I have plenty of outdated cassette tapes, VCR tapes and numerous DVD's for my entertainment.

Each of these items requires attention, care and maintenance. Each of them also provides a variety of information for my senses but to what end. What value do these items bring to my life?