Data and Money

by | May 21, 2019 | ICT4D, Ideas |

Our behaviour around data and money can be very similar. We always seem to want more. We’re not sure why we need more or what we’ll do with it, but we want more. Perhaps we think it will bring us happiness or power or the capitalist notion that more is always better.

With money we know once we get beyond the having enough to meet our daily needs, the happiness and utility value trend line plateaus off. The accumulation of data is similar.

So how much is enough?

It’s a tough question partly because the answer if different for all of us and when we see our colleague asking, wanting, receiving more, good ol’ FOMO kicks in and we ask for more too. And the vicious cycle goes on.

While data minimalisation principles do exist, they tend to state some version of ‘collect only the data you need’, which of course is subjective as it assumes we have defined and know what we need.

So how much is enough?

In the end, it’s up to you and I, but I’m fairly certain it’s a lot less than we think we do.

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *