3 Ways to Cleanup Digital Clutter

Does a dirty kitchen stress you out? Do you go crazy when your kids don’t pick up their rooms? Does a table filled with mail and junk give you a bit of anxiety. Sure, clutter can be a source of stress. Research from Psychology Today cites that clutter kicks our senses into overdrive, makes us anxious and sends signals to our brain that our work is never done. Now, it’s not just physical clutter that can elicit these feelings. Digital clutter can do the same. Here’s how you can clean up your digital life.

Unused Apps Recent research from Kaspersky has shown that the average Android user has 66 apps installed on their phone. Now, think about your own smartphone usage. How many apps do you regularly interact with? Upwards of 60? Likely not. The 2017 findings show that out of the 66 apps, 54 of them consumed 22 megabytes of traffic daily, without the smartphone user even interacting with them. The same research states that 55 percent of average users regularly revise the content on their phones, which includes deleting both apps and unused documents, 32 percent only do so occasionally and 13 percent intentionally try not to delete any documents or applications at all. Consider that 96 out of 100 Android applications begin working without a user launching them, and shockingly, 83 of these apps have access to sensitive data like contacts, calls, messages and stored files. Take control of the apps on your phone, protect your sensitive data and make sure that you’re not using unnecessary data by cleaning up your apps and taking a look at your smartphone’s settings. No matter which smartphone you use, you can make changes to your apps, the data they store and how often they run by adjusting them via settings.

Personalized Experiences

Technology has allowed us to be more connected to each other than ever before; the same level of connectivity now extends to our devices. Our smartphones are connected to our thermostats, Alexa virtually talks to your Amazon account and your tablet can stream content to any screen in your home. Technology connects us, but sometimes there’s a break in the connection. Take the hassle out of connecting your devices through the cloud and opt for mobile platforms that offer efficient on-device intelligence, such as the Qualcomm Artificial Intelligence platform. With Snapdragon, privacy and efficiency are both top priorities, and your devices are able to operate with more power than ever before thanks to the advanced AI technology.

Excessive Photos

Point and shoot. It is really that simple. It is almost hard not to take a bunch of photos when you have a camera in your pocket or handbag. No, not an expensive DSLR, your smartphone. The average smartphone user has 630 photos on their phone, according to Gigaom. iOS users take 182 photos each month, and their Android-using peers take 111 photos on a monthly basis. So, where do all of these photos go? Nowhere, really. Sure, some may make the cut and be posted to Facebook or Instagram, but many of these photos just take up space. Now, you wouldn’t put bad photos in a physical frame or photo album would you? Didn’t think so. Now, apply that same thinking to your digital photos and start cleaning up your camera roll. As for those good photos, there are a variety of services, from Amazon Prints where you can print your favorite photos on canvas or cards to basic printing services at your neighborhood pharmacy like CVS and Walgreen’s.

Because digital clutter is not as visible or tangible as actual clutter, it can be pushed to the back of your mind or even go unnoticed. However, once you take measures to tidy up your devices, you’ll increase their efficiency and diminish stress at the same time.

Thanks to Lauren