The 'Good', The 'Bad', and The 'Ugly': An Analysis of Personal Knowledge Management within the Context of the Performance Society and Mental Health Awareness

Abstract

The article presents a proposal for the analysis of Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) as a possible methodology and method to help individuals deal with the excess of information and productivity demands in today's society, as well as taking into account its positive, negative and ugly aspects, in the context of the Performance Society, as described by the South Korean philosopher Byung-Chul Han, who criticizes the acceleration, positivity and neuronal violence that characterize contemporary society, and that may cause mental disorders such as depression, ADHD and burnout. For this, a bibliographic research on PKM is carried out, and a categorization of the aspects of PKM is proposed, categorizing its results in a way inspired by Sérgio Leone's film: "the good", "the bad" and "the ugly". As a result, the positive aspects of PKM are the potential increase in learning, adaptability and well-being of individuals; the negative ones are the intensification of information overload, inequality of access and criticism of the concept and relevance of PKM; and, as ugly aspects, we highlight the lack of standardization, the need for customization and constant updating of skills and tools. It is understood, finally, that PKM can contribute to mitigate the harmful effects of the Performance Society, if carried out properly, but can also enhance these effects, if used improperly or without training and awareness. The article also points out the limitations of its method, such as biases in research assumptions and design, and suggests future field research that confirms or disputes its results.