Knowledge, Future Shock and Democracy

In his book Future Shock written in 1972, Alvin Toffler predicted there would be a mass psychotic reaction to the rapid rate of change which he described as future shock. That time has now come. How, in this world of mass media and information overload do we understand our thinking processes on a personal and community level and decided whether we really understand what is going on or are just subscribing to what Walter Lipmann described as 'public opinion'?