Maintenance Mode for Digital Dwellers

In an ever-expanding digital landscape that operates on the commodification of user-generated materials, whether through direct or “dark pattern” extraction, it becomes vital for educators to employ digital practices that normalize critical reflection about the creation and storage of digital content. These practices should create better understanding of the underlying infrastructure of content management and storage. This capstone project, “Maintenance Mode for Digital Dwellers,” is an adaptable pedagogical guide that instructors can use to engage learners in strategies and systems for managing their personal digital materials. Participants are encouraged to engage with their digital maintenance and archival practices through a critical lens. The project’s core themes explore personal data as digital memory, digital agency, and what it means to maintain one’s “digital self.” The workshop pulls from established practices in the Personal Digital Archiving field and Digital Humanities while tailoring the material to educators who may want to introduce these concepts in packed curriculums or to users interested in introductory methods for digital maintenance.