INFORMATION OVERLOAD IN CONSUMER RELATIONS: CONSUMER VULNERABILITY IN THE FACE OF EXCESSIVE INFORMATION - DOI: 10.12818/P.0304-2340.2025v86p249

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the impact
of new information and communication
technologies on consumer relations, focusing
on the formation of a “technoconsumerist”
market and the consumer vulnerability
generated by the increased circulation of
information in society, treated as information
overload, a phenomenon also known as
informational obesity, which tends to affect
the consumer´s free and informed choice,
accentuating their vulnerability in the modern
consumer relationship. The research, based
on the hypothetico-deductive method and
bibliographic review, utilizes the theoretical
frameworks of Jeremy Rifkin, Yoneji Masuda,
and Gilles Lipovetsky. The paper is divided
into three chapters: the first discusses the
“informational deluge” triggered by the
excessive flow of information resulting
from the convergence of new technologies
and internet use; the second examines
“informational obesity,” which arises from the
combination of the “informational deluge”
and the creative strategies of suppliers, such
as planned obsolescence and aggressive
advertising, increasing consumer vulnerability
and perpetuating “hyperconsumption”; the third proposes an “informational diet,”
highlighting the need to reduce excessive
information and promote education for
conscious consumption, while suggesting
greater state control over advertising. The
conclusion points out that technology,
while essential, poses challenges to the right
to information and healthy consumption,
requiring measures to ensure consumer
protection.

KEYWORDS: Informational obesity.
Hyperconsumption. Consumer awareness.
Informational diet.