Protecting Our Crucial Data in the "Digital Dark Age"

If you grew up in social media, then chances are you have more photos than you can remember. When smartphones became cameras and social media became community albums, memories became forever online.

MySpace lost 12 years' worth of music and photos in 2019, affecting over 14 million artists and 50 million tracks. If the entire internet suddenly disappeared, would you be able to access your precious memories?

We live in a "digital dark age," a term popularized by information and communication expert Terry Kuny. As early as 1997, Kuny warned that we were "entering an era in which much of what we know today, much of what is encoded and written electronically, will be lost forever."

He believed that, like medieval monks preserving books, we must preserve today's digital artifacts. Otherwise, future generations will have gaps in their understanding of our present lives.

People often say "the internet is forever," but digital artifacts like photos and videos are actually unstable and impermanent. You may have encountered "link rot," where URLs pointing to important sources now lead to deleted web pages. Hardware becomes outdated, degraded, and upgraded over time. Bit rot (also known as data or file decay, or data degradation) means we may not have physical means to access past data.

Many people already struggle with using technology and software that has reached its "end of life." How will future generations access old data stored in outdated formats due to lack of backward compatibility when updated technology or software can't support the old versions?

We also see issues related to data ownership, especially when controlled by private companies. Relatives face legal difficulties when accessing deceased loved ones' social media accounts. Similarly, if Spotify or Netflix were to shut down tomorrow, you wouldn't own any of the songs or movies you stream daily.

Digital Life

For various reasons, you may not even have noticed that we are in a new digital dark age.

From Google smart homes to contact tracing technology, life is becoming increasingly digital. Without apps, the internet, or social media accounts, it's challenging to verify your identity and access data, even your own data. Many people don't even consider recording, proving, and living their existence in non-digital ways.

With Instagram stories disappearing after 24 hours, and the vanishing message features of Snapchat and WhatsApp, you may have become accustomed to data instantly disappearing.

As the demand for environmental sustainability grows, transitioning to digital formats seems like a responsible solution to reduce carbon footprints. But have you considered the electronic waste you generate?

Even though data protection laws now grant people the right to delete personal data, many may not want their data to be permanently preserved. Identity theft can occur through leaked biometric or other personal data in social media content. Not to mention online tracking, cyberbullying, "revenge porn," and online grooming.

However, despite these understandable concerns, there are still compelling reasons to seriously consider how to preserve the most important digital artifacts and data for you.