Why digital hoarding is the new clutter and how to free your online life
In this cyber age it’s easy to accumulate excess online content but, like in the physical world, digital hoarding can be unhealthy. Here’s how to declutter.
You have gone all minimalist in your physical life (#livelighter, anyone?) but your inbox is cluttered with email messages from 2014, your phone full of photographs you no longer need and your computer is slowed down by files going back a decade.
Southern Cross University Digital Enterprise Lab director Professor Darshana Sedera says you may be a digital hoarder.
“A lot of people don’t realise how much data they hold, there’s a lot of accidental hoarding taking place, which can quickly spiral out of control,” Prof Sedera says.
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What is digital hoarding?
Digital hoarding is a reluctance to get rid of your digital clutter.
Dutch researchers used the term in a research report to describe a man preoccupied with taking (and saving) thousands of digital photos each day, which severely interfered with his daily life.
Prof Sedera says we hold on to digital effects for different reasons.
“We’re less likely to notice space limitations in the digital world and the storage capacity of our devices is increasing all of the time,” he says.
“Social media platforms in particular encourage us to hoard as our emotions get entangled with the content we share with others, such as photos with lots of shares or likes.
“You might take up to 25 selfies or more before you get a winner, but even if the other 24 shots are nearly identical some people can’t bear to part with them.”
RMIT University School of Health and Biomedical Sciences senior lecturer Dr James Collett says there is also something he refers to as “internet survivalism”.
“(It is) the feeling that if the internet goes down, everything you’ve ever downloaded is backed up,” Dr Collett says.
“Others can’t get past the thought that everything they’ve hoarded might come in handy one day.”
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Why digital hoarding could be a sign of a hoarding disorder
Research suggests online hoarding can make us feel just as stressed and overwhelmed as physical clutter.
Prof Sedera was involved in a study in December, which found that digital hoarding can lead to higher levels of anxiety.
“We found females are 27 per cent more likely to feel a negative impact compared with males, and that the number of data storage devices a person owns makes the condition worse,” he says.
Dr Collett says it is not just the digital space that gets clogged but your mind, too.
“The constant acquisition of content and the difficulty in discarding it means that for some individuals, their digital space is so cluttered they can’t find things, which adds to the anxiety,” he says.
“Anecdotally, we’ve heard that people are having panic attacks if their hoarding is so diffuse that they lose, say, a PDF of their phone bill and then feel anxious that their records now have a gap.”
He says many people with hoarding disorder report a background of emotional deprivation and experiences of sudden traumatic loss, especially in early life.
“And so it makes sense to them that there’s a continuity and consistency to their possessions, even online – it’s like building a wall of protection.”
4 steps to digital detox
While the level of digital clutter resulting in feelings of being overwhelmed will be different for every person, there are things you can do to detox:
- “It might sound obvious and it might take time but start by reducing any unnecessary content,” Prof Sedera says.
- Consider doing a so-called spring clean every month or year, to reduce your digital footprint.
- Come up with simple mechanisms to organise your files, emails, pictures and videos.
- Reassess the importance of your social networks, including groups in your communication apps and keep only the ones that are essential to you.
There is also a possibility that your digital hoarding could be accompanied by physical hoarding, Dr Collett says.
“If you can’t get on top of it and you’re finding your issues are too much to handle, consider seeking professional help from your GP or a mental health specialist,” he says.
Written by Liz McGrath.
