Digital hoarding is characterized by the excessive accumulation of digital files like emails, photos, texts or memes. The smartphone user may feel emotionally attached to the computer data and struggle to organize or delete it, leading to stress and anxiety.
“It has to do with the fear of needing this information at some point in the future and yet not having access to it and not knowing where to find it,” Dr. Emanuel Maidenberg, a clinical professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, told CNN last week.