The First-World Problem of Media Hoarding

[innerspaceboy]

This is something I think about often, as I struggle with it daily. I'm curious whether others are similarly affected or if even this circumstance is actually a characteristic trend among my generation.

I'm addressing the problem which arises when one has a collection, physical or digital, whether an archive of cinema, music, literature, television broadcasts, or any other form of media, and that library grows far too great for its collector to ever put so much as a dent into consuming it.

This is a very real problem in an era of digital media, which I suppose still rings true even for those who have forgone their local, static libraries in exchange for the seemingly endless sea of available content from streaming services (both legal and non-legal, alike).

For example, I labored for several weeks to compile an archive of 106 of my favorite television series from my youth. But since I've watched only a handful of episodes. And the same goes doubly-so for my mammoth discographic archive of scores of my favorite record labels and genre maps.

My dilemma seems to be that I take greater pleasure in the acts of researching, compiling, cataloging, and storing media than I do actually consuming it. (This is notoriously common among record collectors.)

Do you struggle with this as well? Have you developed any practices which help establish a routine of actually enjoying your content? If so, please, share your experience!

[DwnWthVwls]

Everything I own can fit in my small sedan, and I'd never buy an album/movie/whatever and not consume it. I don't like waste.

I don't think it's a problem in the digital format, but if we are actually wasting resources on tangible goods we never use it essentially creates a false sense of demand which leads to unnecessary over production.

[grindy]

I have a gigantic, meticulously tagged, music collection.
Lately I've had very little time to tend to it, so several hundred bookmarks to rateyourmusic, discogs and wikipedia pages of albums I'm plannng to download have accumulated.
Just today I decided to download those and then severely decrease the amount of musical research I do. I have strong obsessive compulsive traits and this whole thing is getting out of hand.

[Exo]

I like to put endless amounts of movies on my Netflix queue, sit down wanting to watch one or two of them, go through the entire queue and decide there's nothing to watch, and read a book.

[innerspaceboy]

I suppose hoarding is far less of an issue with digital content, (particularly if it is remotely-hosted). I adore collecting antiquarian lit, vinyl, and other various antiquities but I am mindful to keep any and all physical collections in check. I have a supplementary income which I use as my collector-fund pool so that my hobby never encroaches upon my day-to-day expense budget, and I have become far more discerning in my tastes so that vinyl doesn't overtake the entire house. (I've a dedicated listening room for that.)

I suppose I just miss the experiential element of enjoying my music or taking in a film. In an effort to curb my habit, I created three "EXPLORE" Google Docs - named, "READ", "WATCH", and "LISTEN." I make a concerted effort to tackle a few items from any list each weekend. I read two books on Saturday so I just need to be disciplined enough to keep at it.

It would just be nice to know that I'm not the only whackjob with this delightful dilemma.

[grindy]

I have over a thousand imdb pages bookmarked. I'm pretty sure I'll never watch 95% of those.

[Exo]

Originally Posted by grindy

I have over a thousand imdb pages bookmarked. I'm pretty sure I'll never watch 95% of those.

Same here. I do it so that I'll never never have something to watch. I also fear that if I don't save something that I stumble over, I'll forget it forever and I'll end up missing out on something extraordinary. The problem I have now is sitting down and maintaining focus on one thing for two hours. It's tough.

[grindy]

Originally Posted by Exo

Same here. I do it so that I'll never never have something to watch. I also fear that if I don't save something that I stumble over, I'll forget it forever and I'll end up missing out on something extraordinary. The problem I have now is sitting down and maintaining focus on one thing for two hours. It's tough.

Same here. I have a very short attention span and it's getting worse every year. I can barely read books lately and I don't think I've ever watched a movie without pausing a few times.

[Exo]

Originally Posted by grindy

Same here. I have a very short attention span and it's getting worse every year. I can barely read books lately and I don't think I've ever watched a movie without pausing a few times.

I can do it if the subject matter really intrigues me or I have friends with me watching the same thing. When I'm by myself I tend to drift. It's not all bad though because I've been really into short films and stories lately and have discovered a lot of cool sh*t.

[The Batlord]

I have nearly half a terabyte of comics on my hard drive, most of which I will probably never read, but no regrets. I just have the comfort of knowing that I won't have to track that **** down whenever I "need" it. Same goes even more for music.