  The digital revolution has transformed the exchange of information between
people, blurring the traditional roles of sources and recipients. In this
study, we explore the influence of this bidirectional feedback using a publicly
available database of quotes, which act as distinct units of information
flowing through the digital environment with minimal distortion. Our analysis
highlights how the volume of these units decays with time and exhibits regular
rebounds of varying intensities in media and blogs. To interpret these
phenomena, we introduce a minimal model focused on delayed feedback between
sources and recipients. This model not only successfully fits the variety of
observed patterns but also elucidates the underlying dynamics of information
exchange in the digital environment. Data fitting reveals that the mean
attention to an information unit decays within approximately 13 hours in the
media and within 2 hours in the blogs, with rebounds typically occurring
between 1 and 4 days after the initial dissemination. Moreover, our model
uncovers a functional relationship between the rate of information flow and the
decay of public attention, suggesting a simplification in the mechanisms of
information exchange in digital media. Although further research is required to
generalize these findings fully, our results demonstrate that even a bare-bones
model can capture the essential mechanisms of information dynamics in the
digital environment.
