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What is Digital Pollution?
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In 2024, there is little that we do in our day-to-day lives that doesn’t involve the use of technology – such as our smartphones, internet usage, and even nifty gadgets in our cars, all of which contribute to digital pollution.
Digital pollution is a major concern in the midst of climate change, as our excessive use of technological devices will make it more challenging to curb our current rate of carbon emissions.
In this article, we’ll explain what digital pollution is, what causes it, and how we can fight against digital pollution.
How do we define digital pollution?
Digital pollution refers to the environmental impact created as a result of multivarious digital activities, such as via e-waste, manufacturing processes, and energy consumption with data centers or smart devices.
💡 Although nations across the world are making an effort to reduce their current environmental impact via the use of carbon capture and storage technologies and sufficient climate legislation – the continued increase in the use of digital technologies could harm our changes to keep the Earth’s temperature below the necessary 1.5 °C threshold.
“ Digital pollution is excessive seeing as it can be created from any piece of technology, from the smart thermometers in your house to your new wristwatch or tablet. ”
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Examples of digital pollution
Here are some examples of digital pollution:
- Keeping undeleted emails
- Storing unnecessary data
- Refreshing social media feeds too often
- Toxic waste created from disposing of old electronics
- Subscribing to data storage plans
- Allowing automatic video play on YouTube
- Using search engines
- Opting to use 4G instead of nearby WiFi
👉 All of these activities can put additional stress on servers and ultimately require more energy usage, which in turn – creates excess emissions and puts a strain on the environment.
Is digital pollution the same thing as internet pollution?
Although digital pollution and internet pollution are often used interchangeably, the two terms aren’t one in the same – as digital pollution serves as an umbrella term for internet pollution.
💡This is because digital pollution refers to the creation of excess carbon emissions from anywhere within the digital industry, whereas internet pollution refers to a subset of digital pollution – focusing on the environmental impact of internet-related activities such as streaming or playing video games.
“ Internet pollution, on the other hand, is a more specific aspect of digital pollution – referring to activities online which may contribute to excess emissions such as sending emails or streaming videos on a social media platform. ”
Here are some examples of internet pollution, which as a result, also serve as more specific examples of digital pollution:
- Sending Emails – Every time you send an email, it requires transmitting data through a network in addition to use data storage centers – both of which consume energy to make sure emails remain accessible via the chosen network. In addition to this, sending heavy attachments on email can increase the amount of data storage and transmission required – which is why many people subscribe to data storage subscription services such as iCloud or DropBox to avoid sending the same email attachments repeatedly. As a whole, over 347 billion emails are sent and received everyday – with spam emails contributing the most to internet pollution.
- Streaming Movies Online – As Netflix alone has over 282 million subscribers worldwide, it’s clear that the high-demand for streaming movies and T.V. shows will continue to contribute to high amounts of energy-intensive data usage – especially as HD and 4K displays become all the more common. This is because every time you stream a movie, global networks and data centers alike are continuously working to maintain connectivity with servers – this is why many people will opt to download episodes from streaming services to ensure smooth playback. As traditional T.V. broadcasting continues to die out, we will need to pay attention to the growing environmental impact of streaming.
- Uploading or Downloading Files – Think about every time you’ve downloaded a heavy email attachment, or upload a video to your Instagram story – this requires data to be transferred via the internet infrastructure which requires extensive energy usage and therefore excess emissions. In addition to this, many files, such as old stories uploaded on Instagram or Snapchat – are automatically saved to local servers, which only increases the amount of energy consumed.
- Using Social Media – As Gen Z spends a whopping ¼ of their day, equal to 91 days per year of watching content on social media – it is clear that the growing trends for social media usage and therefore consequential digital pollution are a cause for concern. This is because social media requires a constant flow of data to allow for instantaneously refreshed feeds, sending comments and liking posts, and for video streaming.
It is important to remember that both digital pollution and internet pollution have demonstrated a concerning trend, as the growing use of internet and digital services alike will continue to emphasize the need for more sustainable practices in technology as emissions continue to skyrocket.
The table below demonstrates the facets of digital pollution which may get worse as technology progresses:
| Component | Description | Environmental Impact | Trend as Technology Becomes More Prevalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Media Usage | Continuous interaction, real-time updates, and image/video uploads | High energy demand for data processing and storage, contributing to carbon emissions and e-waste | Increased usage may lead to greater emissions from data centers and more frequent device turnover |
| Streaming Services | High-definition video streaming that requires constant data transmission | Significant energy consumption from data centers and network infrastructure, contributing to carbon emissions and water use for cooling | With more users streaming in HD and 4K, energy consumption and emissions are expected to rise |
| Sending Emails | Emails with attachments require data storage and transfer | Energy use for storage and transmission; large volumes of emails lead to cumulative emissions | Increasing communication and email volume may drive up storage needs and associated emissions |
| Cloud Storage and File Transfers | Uploading, storing, and transferring large files online | High energy usage in data centers for storage and retrieval; increased e-waste from frequent upgrades | More data being stored and accessed frequently may escalate energy consumption and resource demand |
| Online Gaming | Multiplayer gaming and live-streaming require real-time data exchange | Energy-intensive due to data centers, user devices, and network bandwidth usage | As gaming becomes more immersive and popular, demand on servers and networks will likely increase |
| Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning | Data processing and predictive algorithms for AI applications | High computational power for training models, leading to energy-intensive processes | As AI usage expands, more data centers and servers will be needed, increasing emissions and energy use |
👉 Overall, internet pollution is a subset of digital pollution which focuses on the environmental impact created by activities done on the internet – whereas digital pollution is a broader term to refer to the emissions created from all digital products and services.
What causes digital pollution?
Digital pollution is caused by excessive use of electronic devices or a dependency to use the internet or smart devices for basic tasks that could easily be completed without needing to access the internet or data storage servers.
💡 Essentially anything that requires using the internet or energy to power an electronic device can be considered an attribution to the current rate of digital pollution – such as by searching for the best taco places near you to using your laptop on airplane mode while on board a flight.
“ The main issue with digital pollution is that our lives are now seamlessly intertwined with the use of digital devices and the internet, whereas 30 years ago – electronic devices were not as prevalent in modern society as they are today. ”
Major sources of digital pollution
The main sources of digital pollution include:
- E-Waste – Technology isn’t just a problem when it’s used, but after it’s disposed of – as e-waste contributes to the GHG emissions created by landfills. In fact, studies have shown that there was a stark 53% increase in the amount of greenhouse gas emissions created by E-waste between 2014 and 2020 – revealing a disturbing trend for digital pollution. Furthermore, E-waste can release up to 1000 different various chemical substances into the atmosphere – those of which can be particularly harmful to pregnant women and children.
- Search Engines – Unbeknownst to most, every time you use Google, Bing, or another search engine to look up the best restaurant near you or for an update on Taylor Swift – it requires information to scour several databases, which uses copious amounts of energy. In fact, a single Google search equates to the same amount of energy consumed by turning on a single, 60W lightbulb for 17 seconds.
- Data Centers – Anytime you upload or download an e-mail, video, or song from Google Drive or iCloud – it requires your device to connect to servers across the world – which requires an insurmountable use of energy. As a result, data storage centers account for 1.5% of global electricity consumption – demonstrating how the increase of social media usage amongst younger generations is a cause for concern in terms of digital pollution.
👉 Manufacturing IT devices and general internet usage also contribute to digital pollution.
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Why is digital pollution bad?
Digital pollution is bad because it utilizes finite resources of energy to power devices and internet tasks that may not be essential to our survival.
Furthermore, digital pollution can contribute to air and water pollution as:
- disposing of old electronics can contribute to metal contamination;
- manufacturing of digital devices may require mining of rare resources which can contribute to deforestation and therefore water pollution;
- water-intensive cooling systems often required to help relieve the heat created by data storage centers;
- general fossil fuels burned to help power data storage centers, ultimately contributing to air pollution.
👉 However, what remains most alarming regarding digital pollution is how younger generations are becoming more attached to their phones and the internet – which would mean that digital pollution will become even more challenging to fight in the coming years.
How can we fight digital pollution?
All of the activities associated with digital pollution contribute to excessive energy usage and an increased carbon footprint, but there are several ways in which we can fight against digital pollution – such as by working to improve energy efficiency and making our data storage centers green.
“ Any efforts to reduce our current carbon footprint created by digital pollution will become more challenging over time, as younger generations are becoming more accustomed to using smartphones and other electronic devices in their daily lives. ”
Here’s how we can fight digital pollution:
Reducing the Current Demand of Data Centers
As a whopping 2.3 billion people use cloud storage services, it will prove challenging to convince people to stray away from cloud services in favor of storing their images, videos, and other important files on a hard drive.
If more people used flash drives, hard drives, or solid state storage to store their data – there would be less pressure on data storage centers to upgrade their technology and allow them to make more sufficient progress in reducing their carbon footprint.
Improving Energy Efficiency & Eco-Design
If we’re being honest, the use of digital media isn’t likely to slow down – but increase, especially as Gen Z heads into the workforce.
💡Therefore, it’s important for innovative designers to step into the spotlight and propose the most energy efficient solutions possible to help reduce the current impact created by digital pollution.
This can include not only efforts to improve battery life or encourage users to use energy efficient settings (such as setting their laptops to automatic screen savers after sufficient idle time), but inspiring more eco-friendly design to reduce the emissions created by the product’s lifecycle.
Delete Old Emails
As trivial as this may sound, deleting old emails could really help to decrease the current impact of digital pollution – seeing as 36% of Gen Z has over 1,000 unread emails in their inbox.
If we were to spend our free time going through old emails as opposed to mindlessly scrolling through social media, we could help relieve some of the energy consumption required by data servers and help to reduce digital pollution.
Spend Less Time Online
Although this will prove challenging, especially amongst the younger generation, cutting back on our screen time could do wonders for digital pollution.
The average person spends almost 4 hours on their phone per day, which helps shed light on the truth – the internet and digital pollution existed in the 1990s, but doesn’t pose the same threat as it does today. This is due to our excess consumption and near obsession with social media, both in terms of posting and scrolling.
We have the power to mitigate digital pollution in both our personal and professional lives, but if your company is struggling on where to start – Greenly can help.
What About Greenly?
If reading this article about digital pollution has made you interested in reducing your carbon emissions to further fight against climate change – Greenly can help you!
It can be overwhelming to figure out how to effectively reduce your corporate carbon emissions, but don’t worry – Greenly is here to help. Click here to schedule a demo to see how Greenly can help you find ways to ensure your company is complying with all current and future environmental regulations.
Greenly can help you make an environmental change for the better, starting with a carbon footprint assessment to know how much carbon emissions your company produces.
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