NFP and the diminishing returns of indicator obsession

It feels like we spend an inordinate amount of time dissecting NFP numbers, CPI, and GDP, yet often the immediate market reaction, especially on the majors, is a head fake that reverses within hours. I'm starting to think focusing so much on these lagging indicators distracts from the more pertinent, real-time price action. Is anyone else finding that the 'big data' days are becoming less about genuine trend shifts and more about manufactured volatility for algorithms to feast on? Prove me wrong, I'm open to being convinced otherwise.