Does your cached data fill up quickly? Which bug is accumulating your junk files on your PC or laptop? Which app is writing gigabytes of junk data to your storage devices? Should you clean up your hard disk? Why your mobile is getting slower?
Well, as the clock ticks every millisecond, trillions and trillions of data get accumulated in your virtual world. From the minute you wake up, to the minute when you go to sleep, almost 90 per cent of your time is spent in virtual world.
All this time you collect tonnes of virtual junk as we may call it. You may also call it digital hoarding. From the photographs you click randomly to videos which you save to see later, to articles which you mark, to the emails and messages on social media, every action adds to your collection of virtual junk.
Digital hoarding, also known as e-hoarding, is excessive acquisition and reluctance to delete electronic material no longer valuable to the user. This behaviour includes the mass storage of digital artifacts and the retainment of unnecessary or irrelevant electronic data.
Today, everyone has a cell phone, and so it’s mandatory that the phone camera is to be used even if you don’t have any photography skills. Unlike old times when minimal use of camera was done and not everyone could use it or even afford to capture and develop all 36 shots in a camera roll, the smartphone gen has access and even the competence somehow to click every second of the day.
The pertinent question is – What is done to those billions of clicks taken daily? A few are posted on social networks and the rest are transferred through USB to your computer into a folder where they gather dust, ultimately slowing down your system or phone.
Do you get time to sort the images in your hard disk or external drive, or even in your smartphone? By any chance if you need one particular picture, God be on your side. There are smarter ones (read lucky ones) indeed who clean up their phone, computer and emails daily.
The other kind of data which we tend to collect is the good data like emails of high and mighty, SEO or SEM reports for analysis or speculation. All one needs to do is to digitally de-clutter and clean up all digi portals too. One needs to organize to save the good data and delete all that is not needed or will not be required ever.
Digital hoarding occurs in any electronic spaces where information is stored. Some common areas where digital clutter may exist, are bowser tabs, excessive desktop icons, digital photographs, old documents, file folders, email inboxes, Internet bookmarks, music and movie files and old software or computer programs or apps that are no longer being used.
Why not keep your desktop neat and trimmed of all trash. Start cleaning your cache and history now! Also, delete photos which will never be used and trash-delete all those PDF and documents that you have never bothered to go through all these months or may be years.
It’s not going to be an easy job, and not everyone who reads this will actually act. But, then, you run the risk of living with a huge junk. Digital De-clutter is going to be the need of this generation. Else, this virtual self collected junk will sink your ship. Gear up and start, today!
