Is there a word to describe a person who's addicted to downloading stuff from Internet?
Well, that is exactly what I am :).
I just can't stop myself from downloading stuff (usually electronic articles, say, PDFs). To be more precise, whenever I come across something that I think might be helpful to me (an arixv article, for instance), I'll try everything I can to get a copy onto my hard disk, even though most of the time it is not of the slightest use to me (and then I will yet try to convince myself that it might be helpful for "future reference"...).
Although the truth is I won't even take another look at most of the downloaded stuff as soon as I finish downloading, I still must keep downloading. Virtually everything that is useful, or seems to be useful, or looks as if it will be useful, I can't resist trying to download it. I confess that I seldom use any of my downloaded files, but just owning them, just knowing that they are right there stored in my hard disk, I will somehow feel a bliss, an incredible sense of security, just like a miser counting his gold coins.
So here I am, a hopeless "download-aholic". What word would you choose to best describe me?
Solution 1:
Once again, the English language proves to be too slow to satisfy the growing need for computer-related solutions.
Until a word is created, I would probably go with the word (or some modified version of)
v. hoard - to amass a store of useful information or facts, retained for future use (n. form: hoarder)
StackExchange User @Vim is well known as an information hoarder.
From Oxford.
Solution 2:
I would say (if I had that compulsion) that I was an e-hoarder.
- 10 signs you're an e-hoarder - Network World
- e-hoarder (Electronic-HOARDER) - A person or company that holds onto electronic data for years longer than necessary. The cost of disk storage has become so inexpensive that many... are reluctant to spend the time to erase what is no longer necessary, and cleanup is often postponed.
- Warning: you may be an e-hoarder - Integreon
e-hoarder gets 1,450,000 hits on Google.
Another possibility is digital hoarder, but I think e-hoarder is perfectly understandable.
Solution 3:
Well, you are a download addict. But today, it is more like a torrent addiction.
Here are the signs of download addiction from an article titled "Are You a Download Addict?":
- You know every nook and cranny of the Internet.
- You don’t give up searching.
- You download queue is never empty.
- You frequently check the download status.
- You sacrifice everything else just to download.
- You are running out of disk space.
- You place sentimental value to your downloads.
[conanhughes.com]
Apparently, downloadaholic is used also, mostly in forums.
There is also another contemporary type of a download addict: appoholic.
When a person is addicted to downloading apps, mostly useless apps that they use once or twice and then forget about. Most common with little kids who own iPads and tablets.
[urbandictionary]
Solution 4:
I do like the term "information hoarder". It fits pretty well with how I see my own overly prolific collection of files - they always contain some useful information, but I only ever refer to a small percentage of that information.
However, I feel it's worth taking note of the term "digital packrat". While not in wide use, this term has been around for several years, is considered a serious problem by some, and has been addressed by various professionals in relevant fields. That last article actually discusses a distinction between hoarding and being a packrat, though I don't know how valid that distinction would turn out to be in common usage.
Solution 5:
I would like to suggest, as an alternative, archivist. This is the term preferred by Jason Scott of Archive Team who has led the efforts of archiving everything from text files and shareware CDs, to Geocities and MSDOS games. I know the answer slightly misses the point of question since it doesn't describe the behavior as a morbid condition, but if you ever need a more neutral description, archivist might be your choice.