I have been "in my head" way too much today, but my musings got me thinking.
As a small, not very experienced investor, some days I feel totally overwhelmed by the constant investing "noise" that bombards me every minute, every hour, every day. Some days more than others. The constant narratives from the so-called economic or investing "experts," the never ending discussions in forums such as this one, the daily checking of stock prices/movements, media reports, analysts reports, company reports etc etc etc.
I am asking myself today, just how much of this "noise" is useful. Does it make my investing, more complicated, more demanding of my attention, more stressful than it needs to be?
If I were investing back before the arrival of the internet, I would simply not have access to all this "noise" (some might call it "information") - certainly not immediate access. I would have to read books to gain general investing information. I would have to wait for companies to send me a hard copy of their reports, by snail mail. I guess I could possibly have a mate or two, I could have a chat about investing with, over a coffee or a beer now and then. But for the most part, I would be "noise" free. I would have to make my decisions based on my own research, and the limited amount of information at my disposal on any given day. It wouldn't be overwhelming, and it wouldn't be as stressful.
I think I would prefer that.
Haha, I remember investing before the internet :)
I'm not really sure the internet has lead me to make any better investment decisions, just faster ones.
Quote from: Untamed on Aug 06, 2024, 01:59 PMI have been doing way too much thinking today, but my musings got me thinking.
As a small, not very experienced investor, some days I feel totally overwhelmed by the constant investing "noise" that bombards me every minute, every hour, every day. Some days more than others. The constant narratives from the so-called economic or investing "experts," the never ending discussions in forums such as this one, the daily checking of stock prices/movements, media reports, analysts reports, company reports etc etc etc.
I am asking myself today, just how much of this "noise" is useful. Does it make my investing, more complicated, more demanding of my attention, more stressful than it needs to be?
If I were investing back before the arrival of the internet, I would simply not have access to all this "noise" (some might call it "information") - certainly not immediate access. I would have to read books to gain general investing information. I would have to wait for companies to send me a hard copy of their reports, by snail mail. I guess I could possibly have a mate or two, I could have a chat about investing with, over a coffee or a beer now and then. But for the most part, I would be "noise" free. I would have to make my decisions based on my own research, and the limited amount of information at my disposal on any given day. It wouldn't be overwhelming, and it wouldn't be as stressful.
I think I would prefer that.
Easy to go back. Subscribe to one (or several) newspaper(s) and read the business section. Ask the companies you own to send you hardcopies of their reports ... and - read internet forums only if you feel like it.
Its technically really easy to keep the noise out. If you find it difficult not to look into internet forums, just find a holiday park without wifi and without cellphone coverage. Try Totaranui (Abel Tasman) - amazing landscape and beach, much warmer water than Timaru. no wifi and very unreliable cell phone coverage, but snail mail three times a week. OK, mobile data are just unreliable, sometimes some data might come through. So yes, it's not perfect, but close to it.
Quote from: BlackPeter on Aug 06, 2024, 04:42 PMEasy to go back. Subscribe to one (or several) newspaper(s) and read the business section. Ask the companies you own to send you hardcopies of their reports ... and - read internet forums only if you feel like it.
Its technically really easy to keep the noise out. If you find it difficult not to look into internet forums, just find a holiday park without wifi and without cellphone coverage. Try Totaranui (Abel Tasman) - amazing landscape and beach, much warmer water than Timaru. no wifi and very unreliable cell phone coverage, but snail mail three times a week. OK, mobile data are just unreliable, sometimes some data might come through. So yes, it's not perfect, but close to it.
Yeah, I wasn't just talking about forums. It is the overall bombardment of information, opinion and general catastrophizing from multiple sources, media included. Take yesterday and today for example. The intense reactions to the sudden and apparently unexpected, market drops created an instant message of doom and gloom" - from pretty much every investing information/commentary outlet, both globally and here. And yes, for a moment, I felt myself being sucked into that void, until I gave myself a good butt kick and dragged myself back into reality, with a reminder than I am a long term investor, and there was no reason to panic. So this isn't about the forums specifically. It is about the impact that instant access to multiple sources of information and "noise" we now have, compared to what investors would have had prior to the internet. This isn't me complaining. It is simply me making an observation based on my own experience, and a realisation that perhaps this instant access is not always a good thing.
Quote from: Untamed on Aug 06, 2024, 05:16 PMYeah, I wasn't just talking about forums. It is the overall bombardment of information, opinion and general catastrophizing from multiple sources, media included. Take yesterday and today for example. The intense reactions to the sudden and apparently unexpected, market drops created an instant message of doom and gloom" - from pretty much every investing information/commentary outlet, both globally and here. And yes, for a moment, I felt myself being sucked into that void, until I gave myself a good butt kick and dragged myself back into reality, with a reminder than I am a long term investor, and there was no reason to panic. So this isn't about the forums specifically. It is about the impact that instant access to multiple sources of information and "noise" we now have, compared to what investors would have had prior to the internet. This isn't me complaining. It is simply me making an observation based on my own experience, and a realisation that perhaps this instant access is not always a good thing.
Fair enough, though not sure whether the instant access is the problem. If you would have got the news on the radio or just the next day on the newspaper (like most investors at the great crash October 1929), or whether you would have got the news only months later (like some overseas investors in or after the 1719 South Sea bubble) - it always was a mix of noise and hype and fear, and the sensible action would have been always to stop and check before panicking (and of course in some cases as well before investing).
In a way it is GroupThink, Fear and Greed which brought us as a species to the top of the food pyramid, but while these traits clearly have advantages for the survival of a flock in the wild, they are not necessarily of advantage for every individuum in every situation, particular if the objective is competition between members of the flock, vs. survival of the species.
I think we just need to learn to acknowledge and appreciate these traits - and learn how to manage and control them.
And yes, while (useful) information is always accompanied by noise - it does not really matter whether this conglomerate out of noise and information arrives in seconds, days or months. Our brain always needs to sort the information from the noise and act accordingly.
Bumped into this interesting thread and bumped into a psychologist at the dog park the other day. Also, I never listen to breakfast T.V. on T.V 1 but tuned in for a few minutes this morning and the subject of wellness came up with John Kirwan who, from memory, has done some good work in this field.
The general line of thinking seems to be that with the advent of the internet, online forums and social media in general we do live in a vastly more connected world and get bombarded with vastly more information than our parents' generation before the internet.
Take time out each day to engage in some activity you enjoy that boosts your wellness and disconnect.
For me, that's walking my dog at the park. I disconnect by leaving my phone at home.
Quote from: Basil on Sep 26, 2024, 11:59 AMBumped into this interesting thread and bumped into a psychologist at the dog park the other day. Also, I never listen to breakfast T.V. on T.V 1 but tuned in for a few minutes this morning and the subject of wellness came up with John Kirwan who, from memory, has done some good work in this field.
The general line of thinking seems to be that with the advent of the internet, online forums and social media in general we do live in a vastly more connected world and get bombarded with vastly more information than our parents' generation before the internet.
Take time out each day to engage in some activity you enjoy that boosts your wellness and disconnect.
For me, that's walking my dog at the park. I disconnect by leaving my phone at home.
No doubt - this is the first time in human history that humans suffer from information overflow rather than information deficit. While I don't think that the signal to noise ratio has changed - its just the loudness overall is over the top. We need to learn new strategies to reduce the noise and still allow the useful information to come through - and yes, we need to learn to find time to relax.
I can see how dog walking is doing this (for dog-people), but for people without dogs not everything is lost :) ;
Most activities in the big outdoors would qualify for me (like a hike, a tour on the bike (well, probably not through Auckland's traffic, but here is fine), a walk along the beach .... and actually gardening helps me as well), and so could reading a good (and relaxing) book, meditation or e.g. Yoga.
Quote from: BlackPeter on Sep 26, 2024, 01:19 PMNo doubt - this is the first time in human history that humans suffer from information overflow rather than information deficit. While I don't think that the signal to noise ratio has changed - its just the loudness overall is over the top. We need to learn new strategies to reduce the noise and still allow the useful information to come through - and yes, we need to learn to find time to relax.
I can see how dog walking is doing this (for dog-people), but for people without dogs not everything is lost :) ;
Most activities in the big outdoors would qualify for me (like a hike, a tour on the bike (well, probably not through Auckland's traffic, but here is fine), a walk along the beach .... and actually gardening helps me as well), and so could reading a good (and relaxing) book, meditation or e.g. Yoga.
Agreed with you both
Sounds to me that you need to buy a classic car ;D