Disgraced fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried – a notorious SBF – may be a digital hoarder.
Based on a recent Business Insider reportthe previous CEO of FTX’s laptop is flooded with a lot data that FBI officials are working extra time to research the contents.
However the SBF just isn’t alone in its apparent reluctance to depart with a lot of knowledge.
Actually, digital hoarding — a subtype of hoarding disorder that involves hoarding and having difficulty parting with excessive amounts of digital material — is a growing problem within the US and beyond.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM) recognizes hoarding as a disorder mental illness.
Now a little scientists ask is it time so as to add digital data collection to the bible of psychiatry.
Based on the work done by a technology researcher Majtrik Kataria and his colleagues at digital product engineering company Simform, the typical American has not less than 40 apps installed on their phone – but uses lower than 50 percent of them.
![Sam Bankman-Fried](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000009288312.jpg?w=1024)
Hundreds of thousands of Americans have inboxes with over 1000 unread emails.
And about 60% of Americans never delete any photos or video from any digital device.
Dr. Darshana Sedera, Vice-Dean and Director Corporate Digital Lab from Southern Cross University in Australia warns that the hoarding of digital assets is on the rise – and that the results could prove dire.
His research, he said, shows that the gathering and storage of digital content tends to extend as our “technology steps” increase.
Dr. Seder, who published quite a few papers on the disorder, said there appears to be a positive correlation between the variety of social media platforms a user uses and the quantity of content they store.
Furthermore, his team observed a strong relationship between the variety of storage platforms used (e.g. Google Drive, iCloud, etc.) and the rise in the buildup of digital assets.
As for this fairly latest phenomenon, not all generations are affected equally.
![Email list with 2907 unread emails in your inbox.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000009766763.jpg?w=568)
In a single study, Dr. Sedera and colleagues compared the digital hoarding behavior of Generation X, who they define as those born between 1965 and 1980, and millennials who were born after 1980.
“We found that each groups exhibited symptoms of digital asset hoarding,” he noted.
Nevertheless, millennials showed “significantly stronger tendencies to hoard digital resources.”
Based on Sedera, for younger generations, especially digital natives, it’s logical to expect an excellent greater level of hoarding behavior.
![Dr. Darshan Seder](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000009768540.jpg?w=1024)
Digital hoarding has implications for mental health.
“When someone suffers from symptoms of digital hoarding [constant acquisition, difficulty of discarding, clutter propensity] there may be a high probability that he’ll experience hostile mental or psychological conditions,” Sedera said.
Dr. Barbara Perdigao Stumpfa Brazilian psychiatrist who also he studied the hazards of the disordertold the Post that “comorbidity is common” – especially major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and even attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Nevertheless, in response to psychologist Dr. Nick Neave.
A British scientist told The Post that “in tests led by Dr. Kerry McKellar and published within the journal Interacting with Computers in 2020, we found that digital hoarding is comparatively common, but there appear to be different “types” of digital hoarding, and their hoarding is for various reasons.”
![Young woman looking stressed holding a laptop.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000009768258.jpg?w=1024)
These groups are marked as follows:
Driven by fear
People who find themselves afraid of eliminating any information they may need in the longer term as evidence or reminders. (This “just in case” mentality is usually a set of beliefs of physical collectors.)
Compliance driven
Those that maintain digital files to comply with policies and procedures (related to business, government, etc.). That said, these users are inclined to delete files without a second thought after they are clearly now not needed.
Driven by disconnection
This category summarizes people who find themselves completely overwhelmed by the quantity of emails or files they’ve collected, but who’ve chosen to not delete them in case they by chance eliminate something vital.
Driven by collecting
These are the individuals who tidy up their data, but very rarely delete it aside from obvious spam. They have a tendency to make use of external devices to back up files and see this role as a part of their identity, especially within the workplace.
![A man is shouting at a phone full of emails](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000009766764.jpg?w=1024)
Actually, “a lot of digital assets are fueled by the workplace: limitless emails and circulating documents with people who find themselves often unsure about data retention, retention and disposal policies,” Dr. Neave said. “People often send files to everyone because they’re apprehensive they’ll ‘miss someone’ or be labeled as ‘not doing a good job.’
“This creates an environment where most employees store digital data they do not need – and this can be a serious data protection concern. And the environmental costs of running servers full of digital data are mostly unnecessary.”
As a author of psychology and technology, Sakshi Udavant was reported last 12 monthsdigital hoarding also seems to have a particularly dark side – revenge.
Studies to point out that individuals usually admit to collecting files with the intention of using them as weapons in the longer term.
Revenge porn, a sort of digital abuse where a person shares sexually explicit images without the consent of the individuals depicted, is considered one of the more despicable examples of such use as a weapon.