The explosive spread of information technology is leading to an overload of data and images that is cramping our creativity and even stunting our minds, according to noted stage drama director Amon Miyamoto.

The rapid one-way flow of news and images that is the hallmark of the information age weakens people's imagination, he suggests, because it does not give the recipient enough time to "digest" a particular scene before moving on to the next one.

"It seems to me that the world is moving toward materialism, making people arrogant as they only care about what is visible," Miyamoto said, warning that this trend has spread to the world of theater.