Information overload

It hit me while attending a lecture in one of my classes that i was unlikely to remember much of what the professor was saying. Sure i was taking notes, but who looks at their notes? Honestly the main reason i do is to appear studious. The classes are interesting but why am i having such difficulty retaining what is being said?

I have about 12 sites that i check daily plus whatever blog pops up in reader. I like staying informed and up to date on what is going on in the world. I sometimes spend hours on reddit reading random things on the internet. The majority of it is not important, and i make little effort in retaining it.

Perhaps being confronted with overwhelming information, the brain discards the information to make place for the anticipated oncoming rush of information the next day.