The information age was supposed to bring us enlightenment, and it's brought us the internet and satellite television. We're more plugged in than before, but are we any smarter? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, will we survive the information glut?

SEGMENT 1

Journalist David Shenk is no Luddite, but he thinks we've gone overboard with electronic media. He tells Jim Fleming that abundant information without the filter of good editors is not particularly valuable and that internet junkies can be negatively affected by information overload. Shenk's book is "Data Smog: Surviving the Information Glut." Also, media critic John Katz thinks kids should learn to use computers intelligently and in moderation, but the real moral issue is the fate of children without access to the new technology. Katz is a contributing editor for Wired magazine and the author of "Virtuous Reality."

SEGMENT 2:

In his book "Defining Vision: The Battle for the Future of Television," and in this conversation with Jim Fleming, Joel Brinkley describes the race to develop HDTV, explains a bit about how the new system works, and makes clear why everyone who now owns a TV ought to be concerned about the coming HDTV revolution.

SEGMENT 3:

New Yorker writer John Seabrook tells Anne Strainchamps about his experiments with cyber-sex and why he finds most on-line chat rooms shallow and boring. Seabrook is the author of "Deeper: My Two-Year Odyssey in Cyberspace."

Distribution dates:

• week of 04/13/97 - hour 1
• week of 04/26/98 - hour 1