Comments about ‘A virtual mess: Are you a secret digital hoarder?’

I am a digital hoarder, and I don't think it's a problem at all. I feel relieved that I don't have to decide which things to keep and which to throw away. I don't worry about organizing anything; I just use a search engine to find what I want.

Is the public library really public hoarding? I don't think so. I have about 20,000 tracks (mostly classical) on iTunes that I've been collecting for 29 years -- since the advent of the CD. Those tracks replaced 2,500 LPs that were eventually given away. But I think there is a difference between "hoarding" and collecting (aka creating a library). I also have a lot of financial files on DropBox including years of tax returns because it's safer than my filing cabinet. So the key between 'hoarding" and legitimate use may be in the degree of organization. If I can put "fingers" on a desired item from my "hoard" in 10 seconds, then maybe it wasn't a hoard in the first place(?). Photos are the biggest problem, but Apple's iPhoto tools help give that some structure, also.

I'm a digital hoarder because I'm not willing to make the time to go through those digital files I have from the 80's and 90's. Digital space is very cheap, my time is better spent writing comments on websites! lol