The enormous amount of data that we have and that we continue to generate

Most of the people are not aware of the enormous amount of data that we already have stored and the enormous amount of it that we follow and will continue to generate.

And the question is: does it make sense to continue like this or should we change?

I explain myself. For thousands of years the data was written on scrolls, books, etc … and they occupied a certain space without consuming energy.

Around 1950 appeared the transistor and the microchip and the electronics were revolutionized. We begin to have electronic data (bits 1 and 0) that is stored in magnetic disk systems controlled by a computer and powered by electrical energy.

Storage technology evolves and it appear other substrates, optical discs, etc … and at the same time the revolution of the Internet and Social Networks makes everyone generate information that they share with everyone else.

Currently there are about 4,000 million people and companies generating data, which other companies collect on huge servers (a server is made up of thousands of computers that store and manipulate information) to sell that information and generate huge profits.

Just to give us an idea, every day are generated 300,000 million e-mails, 4 million gigabits in Facebook, 700,000 hours of videos on YouTube, and many other data in other environments. A huge amount of data that is stored and that is manipulated.

And the growth of this data has accelerated in recent years with a tendency to continue increasing exponentially.

Now there is more people on the Internet + 5G + Internet of things +…. , in short, more data usage around the world.

There are currently 600 super-large data centers around the world (40% of them in the USA) and it is estimated that 100 new ones have to be created every 2 years to be able to continue storing the data generated.

Just as a figure, the largest Data Center in the USA (it’s in Tahoe, Reno) and consumes 800 MW of power, that is, it needs the energy generated by a nuclear power plant almost for itself.

And the question that arises is: What information are we storing?

To begin with, all the nonsense that occurs to us to publish on the networks: photos, videos, etc …, as well as other information from companies, governments, etc …

Videos and photos occupy the most capacity and in 2020 a total of 75 ZettaBytes (75 trillion Gigabytes) were stored, with an estimate for the year 2025 of 175 ZB.

If this rate is continued, experts estimate that within 100 years the world’s Data Centers will consume a total amount of energy similar to that consumed worldwide today.

It seems to me that we should begin to “educate” people about the enormous amount of electronic “garbage” that we are storing, the cost it entails and the nonsense of continuing in that way.

And quite possibly put limits on that waste. There are many ways to do it, but it takes a willingness to take action.

Will it be done? I doubt it. There is a lot of business at stake.