I suspect that the often ephemeral nature of digital memories will play a key role in the continuing evolution of human society. Particularly where the impact of nostalgia and personal reflection are concerned. While I think this is mostly a constructive shift that allows for more meaningful interconnectivity, more responsible resource allocation, and a much wider communal focus upon the shared present, I also feel it’s likely to leave future pasts with a noticeable ethereal latency and lossy intangibility.
For instance, I have saved every birthday card that I have ever received from anyone since I was a young teenager. Decades-worth of well-wishes tucked away in a small coffer. They have somehow weathered the storms over the years. It’s an example of one waning, nearly lost tradition that I lament passing in the digital era.
These cards are of personal interest only and have no intrinsic value, but they are mine. They are my responsibility. I am not an important person (but others will be). These memento documents record the yearly progression of my life. They remember where I was, who I knew, how we were connected, and personal stories tied my social imprint and influences. Artifacts of those moments.
As humanity progresses further into the digital age, I often wonder: who is responsible for the lifetime of memories stored digitally? Sure, one can make a backup of recent data for prosperity, but so few do. How dependent we are upon the technology we’ve so recently created.
Our era often reflects on our tangible past (printed photographs, written letters, official documents, etc.) as a basis for better understanding of the generations that came before. Today we look to tangible connections to specific historical moments to augment a sort of validation (or sometimes a counter) to the narrative of history. When the next generation asks about their childhood will there be photographs, keepsakes, or mementos for them to peer back into their own past?
I wonder how future generations will grapple with either the immense amount of extraneous data we leave behind, or worse: the noticeable loss of data that was at one point deemed irrelevant without a full understanding of its potential importance to future generations.
So many of our memories could be but one corporate decision away from vanishing into the aether…
The reply that granny made when you posted the announcement about your child’s birth, the comments of the brother-in-law he made teasing you on the photos from your wedding before he passed away… A myriad of moments lost to time, discarded and forever lost by happenstance beyond our individual control. I can’t help but think that the loss of these moments en masse is going to have some sort of substantial impact on how society remembers itself.