Madrid, March 23, 2022 – Keeping digital devices clean and tidy benefits the mental health of Spanish users, according to research carried out by CCleaner, leader in system optimization software. The results show that 80% of Spaniards feel satisfied or relaxed when their digital devices are optimized and working properly. The proper functioning of mobile devices, computers or tablets is an important issue for 81% of the people surveyed, especially since any slowdown or reduction in device performance generates stress in 70% of cases.
The relationship between the mental well-being of consumers and their electronic devices is closer than ever. The acceleration of digitization and the rise of working from home have made technology an indispensable companion for many users. This dependency on devices explains why 75% of Spaniards recognize that they feel calmer if their devices are organized and optimized. However, only 37% of those surveyed say they clean and organize their devices. Another 29% say they are aware of the need to take care of their devices, but procrastinate most of the time, while 14% never find the time to do so.
“While no one doubts the benefits of using laptops, tablets, and mobile phones to connect with friends, co-workers, and businesses, psychologists have noted an increase in ‘techno-stress‘, a phenomenon that generates stress and anxiety, and which in turn can have a negative impact on our quality of life”, says Jonathan García-Allen, psychologist and head of communication for Psychology and Mind. “Guaranteeing the optimization and proper functioning of the devices is a very effective and easy-to-apply preventive strategy.”
“For a device to work properly, you need to take care of your health. In the same way that good nutrition and hygiene are essential for people, we need to pay more attention to how downloading files and content clutter affect the devices we all depend on. Having too much ‘junk’ not only opens the door to security problems, but can also negatively affect the performance of devices and, therefore, our mental well-being”, adds Luis Corrons, Security Evangelist at CCleaner.
Experts recommend healthy digital routines
However, if we pay attention to the online habits of users, we see that not all consumers prioritize the health of their devices. 53% admit that they rarely or never update their drivers and 39% admit that they rarely change their account passwords. When it comes to privacy, users also seem to pay little attention to best practices like deleting browsing history or clearing cache; in both cases, 24% confess that they hardly ever do it.
there are others digital routines healthy that seem to be more common among Spanish users. For example, 33% empty their email inbox on a daily basis. 76% delete unwanted files from their device at least once a month, and 72% empty the recycle bin.
“It is shocking how computer security and the speed of our technological devices are factors that are closely related to our mental well-being,” says Bertrand Regader, psychologist and CEO of Psicología y Mente. “Our research shows that our levels of dissatisfaction, frustration and techno-stress rise when our devices are not working properly, and this has a detrimental effect on our overall mood. It is important, therefore, to have tools that optimize our devices”.
Optimization applications to improve the health of our devices
Optimization programs and applications, such as CCleaner, improve device performance and usability. 39% of the people surveyed currently use them, firstly, to improve the performance of the devices (49%), and secondly as a solution to avoid slowdowns (47%).
Luis Corrons, Security Evangelist at CCleaner, offers the following advice to users to keep their digital space tidy:
- Delete any old email, social media, or Internet accounts that you no longer use.
- Do not multitask on your device: having too many tabs or documents open at the same time does not translate into greater efficiency. Rather, it leads to jumping between tasks without paying 100% attention to any of them.
- Set up folders to store the emails you need to keep (whether for work or home reasons) and delete the ones you no longer need.
- Take a couple of minutes a week to unsubscribe from subscriptions you no longer care regarding, instead of just deleting their emails.
- Tidy up your desk, instead of using it as a place to store files. Create some appropriately named folders to keep your documents in, and check them regularly to make sure they’re neatly arranged.
- Once a month, uninstall apps from your phone that you no longer use.
- Regularly review photos and remove duplicates, blurry photos, or unidentifiable images. It is also advisable to create folders so that you can easily find the image you are looking for.
- Use a tool like CCleaner to remove junk files cluttering your computer or mobile device and optimize its performance.
Survey methodology:
CCleaner has carried out this online survey in collaboration with YouGov, an international market research and data analysis company on the Internet, with a representative sample of 2,053 people over the age of 18 who live in Spain and use electronic devices. The survey was conducted between January 19 and 21, 2022.
