The problem of "Digital Hoarding" has been studied in a workplace context but less so in relation to personal use digital data.In this study, we examine the relationship between scores on a measure of Digital Hoarding and the digital behaviors associated with personal technology.One hundred and sixty-seven participants completed the Digital Hoarding Questionnaire (DHQ) to assess digital hoarding tendencies.Participants indicated their main storage device for personal use digital data and thought about this when completing a new measure -the Digital Behaviors for Personal use Questionnaire (DBPUQ) designed to capture information item management behaviors and affective responses to digital information items.Higher scores on the DHQ correlated with difficulty finding information items, attachment and distress at potential loss of information items.Participants' choice of personal device was not associated with DHQ scores, information item management behaviors, affective responses or total information items stored.This work provides a first step toward a better understanding of personal use digital data hoarding.We discuss the implications of digital hoarding of personal use data with respect to increased feelings of anxiety, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and sustainability concerns.Understanding digital hoarding in a personal use data context is foundational for developing design solutions and behavioral interventions aimed at reducing digital data overload.

Non-profits such as voluntary and community-based (VC) organisations are facing increasing pressures to engage in data work to sustain themselves. They face challenges with practices, information systems and tools associated with capturing data for supporting service provision. Most recently, researchers working with VC organisations have turned to Feminist and Care discourses to envision alternatives to current socio-technical systems whereby their values and purposes do not match with those of non-profits, consequently pulling the latter away from their socially driven mission. We report on a longitudinal, collaborative study with a UK-based mental health peer support organisation that created innovative tools as a means of navigating current pressures to practice data work for the quantification of mental health service provision. We present findings from interviews conducted with our community partner and share how recovery work has informed careful data practices, offering recommendations for supporting data work in mental health recovery.

Individuals within organisations necessarily hold data including personal identifiable data, for individuals with a tendency to accumulate digital data and a reluctance to delete it, there is greater potential for data to be stored. Therefore, understanding why people engage in digital hoarding and how they respond to the mitigations put in place is important. Eleven people working in a large commercial organisation scoring highly on a digital hoarding questionnaire, took part in focus groups to understand the extent to which they kept digital data. The focus groups also explored employee compliance with policies and procedures including knowledge of GDPR. Thematic analysis led to three themes: (1) Organisational culture versus digital hoarding tendency, (2) Thinking about personal data, and (3) Responsibility and control. The findings highlight different motivations for data hoarding including anxiety driven by ‘blame culture’ as participants respond to workplace challenges and the need to be accountable. Participants were aware of policies including GDPR but often used workarounds to keep data longer than specified in their information retention policies. Technical approaches to data reduction were often counterproductive. Findings are discussed in relation to potential threats of digital data hoarding and technical and non-technical approaches to reducing digital data retention.

Technology to enable and support learning and teaching is widespread in university settings. One consequence of such technology use is the accumulation of large volumes of digital data. The acquisition of, and failure to, discard digital content can lead to digital clutter. The potential negative consequences of digital clutter have been examined mainly within a workplace context. Far less is known about how university students manage their academic digital data and whether they have strategies to deal with excessive digital clutter. Eighteen undergraduate students took part in a one-to-one or group-based interview to discuss their digital data management strategies including accumulation and deletion behaviours. Thematic analysis led to three themes: (1) Digital data accumulation across the student journey, (2) Reactive and evolving digital data management strategies and (3) Data overload: Anxiety, loss of productivity and feeling overwhelmed. The findings capture the complexity of feelings students have about different types of digital technology and the strategies they use to manage increasingly large volumes of digital data. Findings are discussed in relation to the need for better support and guidance for students around the use of digital technology to manage their data during their time at university.

Developments in ubiquitous and pervasive computing herald a future in which computation is embedded into our daily lives. Such a vision raises important questions about how people, especially families, will be able to engage with and trust such systems whilst maintaining privacy and individual boundaries. To begin to address such issues, we have recently conducted a wide reaching study eliciting trust, privacy and identity concerns about pervasive computing. Over three hundred UK citizens participated in 38 focus groups. The groups were shown Videotaped Activity Scenarios [11] depicting pervasive or ubiquitous computing applications in a number of contexts including shopping. The data raises a number of important issues from a family perspective in terms of access, control, responsibility, benefit and complexity. Also findings highlight the conflict between increased functionality and the subtle social interactions that sustain family bonds. We present a Pre-Concept Evaluation Tool (PRECET) for use in design and implementation of ubicomp systems.

Traditionally health advice has been anchored in face-to-face settings but increasingly patients are using the Internet for their health advice needs. This means that patients are now offered inconsistent advice from a range of sources and must determine which sites to trust and which to reject. To understand how consumers make these choices, 13 participants diagnosed with hypertension took part in a longitudinal study in which they searched for information and advice relevant to their condition. A content analysis of the group discussions revealed support for a staged model of trust in which mistrust or rejection of Websites is based on design factors and trust or selection of Websites is based on content factors such as source credibility and personalization. Based on this model, a set of guidelines for developing trust in health Websites is proposed and key differences between face-to-face communication and web-based systems are discussed.

In recent years the number of health related websites has increased dramatically and so have concerns regarding the quality of online information. The sheer volume of sites and the variety of information available have left health consumers potentially with greater choice but it is not clear whether these online changes are reflected in user behaviour. This study addresses whether users are becoming more proficient in searching for credible, high quality information and whether they are more demanding of the type of information being sought and less ready to trust online health advice. This paper describes changes in the use of the Internet for health advice over a five-year period. It compares findings from two large-scale online questionnaire studies undertaken in 2000 and 2005. Key changes and similarities in usage and trust practices are noted. The rise in unregulated sites is discussed in terms of patients “acting as scientists” using websites to test out theories regarding their health. The increasing importance of design issues is also highlighted and implications for website designers and content providers are presented.

Journal Article The social implications of emerging technologies Get access Vassilis Kostakos, Vassilis Kostakos * * Corresponding authors Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Eamonn O'Neill, Eamonn O'Neill Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Linda Little, Linda Little * * Corresponding authors Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Elizabeth Sillence Elizabeth Sillence Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Interacting with Computers, Volume 17, Issue 5, September 2005, Pages 475–483, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intcom.2005.03.001 Published: 01 September 2005

Do different design and information content factors \ninfluence trust and mistrust of online health sites? Fifteen women faced with a risky health decision were observed while searching the Internet for information and advice over four consecutive weeks. In some sessions their searches were unstructured, whilst in other sessions they were directed to review specific sites, chosen for their trust design elements. Content analysis of concurrent \nverbalisations and group discussion protocols provided \nsupport for a staged model wherein design appeal predicted \nrejection (mistrust) and credibility of information and \npersonalisation of content predicted selection (trust) of \nadvice sites.

Digital communities are often portrayed as operating entirely within the confines of a single technological domain, e.g. a group of people in a web-based chatroom. In this study an integrated approach to digital communities is explored. It is proposed that members of communities employ a range of digital technologies to support their activities and sense of community. This paper describes a study that develops a community using combined text messaging or Short Messaging Service (SMS) with web-based interaction. An application based on this specification is built in order to develop and support a digital community based around the 2002 World Cup. Participants interacted with the system during the soccer tournament, chatting with other members and taking part in competitions. They successfully integrated SMS with the website. Participants reported feeling like a cohesive group and showed increased interest in soccer and the World Cup.