The role of feelings in personal information management behavior: Deleting and organizing information

An increasingly intense experience of personal information management (PIM) manifests in how people manage personal information archives and how they feel about it. To this point, however, the relations between feelings and PIM behavior have attracted limited study. We examined how feelings shape people’s organizing and deleting practices, focusing on four affective aspects: anxiety, self-efficacy, belonging, and loss of control. We hypothesized that these affective aspects would predict the extent to which people utilize organizing and deleting practices. Data were collected via two self-reported questionnaires distributed to 465 respondents. Findings partially supported the hypotheses and showed self-efficacy was the strongest predictor of deleting and organizing. This suggests the process of PIM is more efficient and productive when people enjoy interacting with personal information and do not perceive it as a burden. We discuss the results and suggest several implications for research, PIM literacy development, and platform design.