Designing better ways to let go of digital memories than ‘delete’

Researchers are looking at better ways of helping grieving people let go of emotionally-charged digital content after the death of loved ones or the break-up of relationships. As we spend more time online we are gathering large collections of digital possessions - such as photographs or emails - many of which represent important relationships, events and activities. Letting go of objects is well known to help grieving people to move on with their lives. However, currently the only option available for disposing of digital possessions is pressing delete - which instantly and permanently removes items from storage devices. This rapid process is found by many to be deeply unsatisfactory for letting go of highly emotive photographs or messages. "Deletion is a crude binary process leading to negative side effects," says Dr Corina Sas, senior lecturer at Lancaster University's School of Computing and. "On the one hand, those who immediately delete digital material may later regret this decision.