Are my Generation and those before me considered pack rats?

Summary

The web content discusses how generations before the digital age, particularly those who lived through the Depression era, tended to accumulate more physical items due to historical hardships, and how the transition to digital storage has since reduced the need for physical space to store these items.

Abstract

The article reflects on the habits of older generations, born in the 1980s or earlier, who were taught by their Depression-era parents to save items "just in case." With the advent of the digital age, the necessity to hoard physical items like paperwork, photographs, and other memorabilia has diminished, leading to a cultural shift towards digital storage solutions. The author acknowledges that while some may have taken hoarding to an extreme, the digital revolution has not only made life more convenient but also potentially beneficial for the environment, as less paper usage contributes to saving trees. The text also encourages readers to continue moving towards digital solutions to further protect the environment for future generations.

Opinions

The author suggests that older generations, influenced by the experiences of the Depression era, were more inclined to save items for potential future use.
Despite some individuals becoming extreme hoarders, the author believes it's a natural response to past hardships rather than a personal failing.
With the onset of the digital age, the need for physical storage of items like documents and photos has decreased, leading to a cultural shift in saving habits.
The author appreciates the convenience of digital storage and its positive impact on the environment, noting that it may not be perfect but there is potential for improvement in saving more trees.
The article promotes the idea that readers should embrace digital solutions to aid in environmental conservation, emphasizing personal responsibility in protecting nature for future family members.
The author encourages minimal

Are my Generation and those before me considered pack rats?

If you grew up in the 80s or before, do you have a lot of “things”?

hoarders house made by the author in night cafe

Maybe some of us are hoarders like the image above. That’s ok. I doubt most of us have gone this far but it is not your fault if you have.

I believe those of my generation and older were raised a bit differently than the younger generations.

I never lived through the hard times of the past, I was raised by those who lived in the Depression era and they taught their children what was learned during those hard times in case it happened again.

As years went on people got more relaxed seeing we weren’t going through hard times like that again. As people got more relaxed they gave into the easier way of life. Not saving things like our parents and grandparents.

Digital age started moving as I become an adult. Once the digital age started more things were online.

Hoarding was becoming a thing of the past or something the older generations had done. The transition has been slow but digital means less paper, or job paperwork. Less photos in a persons shoe box or photo album.

Less paper is being printed because it could just be emailed. Businesses still use a lot of paper printing, but I think it is less than what it used to be a few years back.

It is much more convenient to do things online than having to get paperwork sent to you or go pick it up, sign it and return it. Now with email, it all happens within a matter of minutes instead of days or hours if lucky.

People have online storage for their photos and usually just print off a few they like instead of taking your film to the one hour photo shop and wait for it to developed. I am sure the photo tech people had seen a lot of photos they did not want to see, and maybe some they did not mind seeing.

With all the things done online today just leaves more room in the house for other things that are more practical. Not things that need to be saved for a just in case day, or I might use this one day.

They were the words I heard from my mom and grandmother a lot. Going to save this wrapping paper, I might reuse it one day.

I had learned over the years that many things do not need to be saved and I only save a couple of things that I can use for a diy project. To many times I saved more than I could keep up with.

The best thing the digital age has brought with it is when someone sends things online or stores things online… you might of saved a tree from getting chopped down.

Know we are not where we need to be to save a lot more trees but I am sure we will be one day. Do your part to help so we have nature left for our families after we are long gone.

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