Digital Hoarding Behavior and Its Association with Academic Efficiency and Performance among Medical Students at the University of Khartoum: A Cross-Sectional Study
This cross-sectional study of 328 medical students at the University of Khartoum reveals that while digital hoarding is highly prevalent and significantly impairs academic efficiency, it does not directly correlate with GPA, highlighting the need for targeted digital literacy interventions and better management of research survey distribution.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
In the modern world, the act of keeping things has moved from the physical shelf to the digital screen. Just as some people struggle to throw away old newspapers or broken appliances, a growing number of people find it difficult to delete digital files. This behavior, known as digital hoarding, involves saving vast amounts of emails, documents, photos, and links, often to the point where the sheer volume creates stress and makes it hard to find what is actually needed. While keeping a few extra files seems harmless, the accumulation can become a burden that clouds the mind and disrupts daily life. This is particularly relevant for students, who must manage a constant flood of textbooks, lecture notes, and research materials. When the pressure to save everything for "just in case" meets the high demands of medical training, the result can be a digital clutter that weighs heavily on a student's ability to focus and learn.
Researchers at the University of Khartoum set out to understand how this digital clutter affects medical students in Sudan, a setting where the challenges of conflict and limited resources have forced a heavy reliance on online learning. They surveyed 328 students to see how many were struggling with this behavior and whether it was hurting their grades or their ability to work efficiently. The study found that digital hoarding is widespread among these students, with nearly two-thirds showing signs of moderate to high levels of the behavior. The most common habits included saving files that might never be read, forwarding materials to personal channels without ever looking at them again, and feeling a genuine sense of anxiety at the thought of deleting a file. Many students described a fear that losing a digital file would mean losing a part of their academic identity, leading them to keep everything in a state of disorganized accumulation.
The researchers discovered a clear link between this behavior and how well the students functioned in their studies, though the connection was not what one might immediately expect. While the amount of digital clutter did not directly change a student's grade point average, it had a strong association with how efficiently they could do their work. Students who hoarded the most digital files were significantly more likely to report that they struggled to concentrate, spent excessive time searching for specific documents, and felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of their stored content. In fact, those with the highest levels of digital hoarding were more than five times as likely to experience high levels of academic dysfunction compared to those who kept their digital spaces organized. This suggests that the problem is not necessarily that students are failing their exams, but that the mental effort required to navigate their digital mess is draining the energy they need to learn effectively.
A unique aspect of this study was its focus on the accumulation of research survey links. Medical students are frequently asked to participate in academic surveys, and the researchers found that the constant stream of these links was becoming a specific type of digital clutter. Over a third of the students reported feeling overwhelmed by the number of survey invitations they received, and a similar number said this accumulation made them less willing to participate in future research. This "survey fatigue" creates a cycle where the very tools used to study student behavior become part of the problem, potentially skewing the data researchers collect in the future. The study also noted that most students relied on messaging apps like Telegram to store their files rather than organized cloud services, a habit that makes it even harder to sort through and retrieve information when it is needed.
Ultimately, the findings suggest that the impact of digital hoarding on medical students is subtle but significant. It does not necessarily show up as a drop in test scores, but it does erode the efficiency and mental clarity required for rigorous academic work. The study indicates that the stress of managing a chaotic digital environment acts as a hidden barrier to learning, creating a state of cognitive overload that makes studying more difficult. The researchers recommend that students be taught better digital organization habits and that institutions consider regulating how often they send out surveys to avoid adding to the burden. By addressing the root causes of this digital accumulation, medical schools can help students clear the mental fog that comes from holding on to too much, allowing them to focus on the work that truly matters.
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