When we think of digitalization, we mean the transfer of an analogue reality to a
compressed technical image.
In the beginning, digitalization served the purpose of enhancing social communication
and action. Back then, data was supposed to be a copy of fragments of
reality. Since these fragments were generated and processed for specific purposes,
data had to be viewed in context and considered as a physical link. Due to the fact
that reality was way too complex to make a detailed copy, the actual purpose of data
processing was crucial. Besides, storage capacities and processor performance were
limited. Thus, data had to have some economic and/or social value.
However, new technologies have led to a profound change of social processes
and technological capacities. Nowadays, generating and storing data does not take
any considerable effort at all. Instead of asking, “why should I store this?” we tend
to ask ourselves, “why not?” At the same time, we need to come up with good
reasons to justify the erasure of data—after all, it might come handy one day.
Therefore, we gather more and more data. The amount of data has grown to
dimensions that can neither be overseen nor controlled by individuals, let alone
analyzed.