One of the internet providers had an advertisement slogan is Where will you go on the Internet or it was featuring one of the great things about the internet – if you are curious about a subject you can learn or find information till your heart’s content. You can find others who are interested in subjects you are interested in and you can be a more informed person. Most people including me are sometimes curious about subjects, but not 7 days a week. Sometimes seemingly mindless activities are equally as important. It is the seemingly mindless activities that a book was written about the subject. The book is called The Internet Trap by Ashesh Mukherjee published by U of T Press, Toronto, 2018. The author is an Associate Professor of Marketing at McGill and can be reached at ashesh.mukherjee@mcgill.ca.

Too Much Information

One of the wonderful aspects of the internet is the amount of choice one can find. Instead of one of two store to browse, you can as potentially hundreds. Choice is the basis of free markets, driving competition and economic growth which are are good things. However choice has some negatives – choice paralysis, choice shortcuts, post choice satisfaction, and barriers to learning.

Why does too much choice lead to paralysis? Some of the reasons are regret, anxiety and effort. Sometimes will all the choice one can make, the question is did you make the best choice? Research has shown thinking about choice options creates a sense of attachment to all the considered options. The giving up of one option creates a feeling like you lost. Too much information can create anxiety which results in not making any choices.

In order to make a choice, we make shortcuts and this is why firms spend heavily on branding and jealously guard their brand equity. Brands bind customers with invisible chains of assurance and convenience in a world of excess information.  We tend to go with top ranked websites on the search engine. This tends to entrench the dominance of big brands in the marketplace.

Most people after purchasing their product will compare to others and some people will have received better deals than others. Did you receive the best deal?

The barriers to learning is partly due to the tools of the internet which can help you, you delegate to outside sources. The issue of relying on information can lessen our ability to learn because we now make less effort to organize and understand information in our mind.

Too Much Customization

More and more the internet can customize what you like to you which can be a very good thing. The issue is do you only associate with things and people which are similar to you, there is a world beyond you. If you only associate with people like you, it is very hard to think outside the box or be creative.

Customization can increase the costs because of the ownership feeling. This sense of virtual ownership or virtual endowment can create higher expectations of performance.

If the product is a luxury item, the less regular people input, the better. If the product is everyday, the more regular people having an input the better.

Linking to dividend paying stocks in life and on the internet there is balance for the individual. What is great for the company, may not be great for the individual. As we continue to evolve, how does the company balance the two and keep sales?

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.