Also, digital is so efficient it accumulates far faster than older mediums. I find it a very telling pattern. Things are easy and so they get out of control.
When I was a kid, a photo album had something like 50 tiny fading photos, and it covered 5 years or so. Each one was a very high density of memories. Now we have thousands of them. Curious.
In the old days someone put a photo album in a trunk in the attic. Then they got old, forgetful, the kids didn't care about the photos, then the person died. Years later someone else found the photo album.
What happens in this scenario with digital photos? Sure, if someone is careful (and most people frankly aren't... I've seen more than a few people lose all their photos) you can keep backing them up. Until you can't anymore or you don't. Then they are gone.
When I was a kid, a photo album had something like 50 tiny fading photos, and it covered 5 years or so. Each one was a very high density of memories. Now we have thousands of them. Curious.