The old saying "do not know what you got until you lose it" seems more relevant than ever in the digital age, according to Kaspersky Lab's new research, which shows that while people claim to understand the value of their data, they do not really appreciate their importance until they lose them.
Even cold sweat can spoil people into thinking that they have lost data that they previously considered "insignificant".
These findings, which are part of the "My Precious DataKaspersky Lab, reveal how unpleasant data loss is - even when that data is not necessarily considered "important" or particularly valuable by its owner.
During the survey, people agreed that their most personal personal details ("private and sensitive photos and videos") were also the most frightening type of data they may lose. However, it has also been surprisingly traumatic to even the loss of data that people may regard as less important.
For example, the prospect of losing communication data is considered particularly worrying by many, placing it in the three most terrible types of data loss, despite the fact that the contact information is generally much lower in terms of the "importance" of the data.
Research has thus revealed contradictions in the importance people attach to their data and the reality of the discomfort they face when they lose data that they themselves did not initially consider important.
As part of the research, Kaspersky Lab collaborated with psychologists from the University of Wuerzburg to measure the physical reactions of people in data loss through a series of three experiments. While psychologists expected to encounter much stronger reactions to the loss of important data, participants were surprised that participants showed signs of discomfort even in the loss of data almost insignificant to them.
During the trial, psychologists measured electrodermic activity (changes in sweat glands in the skin), and while users were more likely to sweat when they thought they had lost important data, sweat levels were not so lower when they considered they had lost less important data.
The same pattern was found during the other two experiments.
For example, the temperature of the nose ends of humans decreased when the loss of important data was simulated. This physical stress indicator showed that the respondents literally "freeze from their fear".
However, the temperature of the tip of the nose decreased even when the respondents thought they had lost insignificant data and the difference was not as great as the psychologists expected. Similarly, when systemic facial expressions were measured, the experiment detected grief expressions when simulating the loss of both significant and insignificant data.
Although experiments have shown that the idea of data loss of cold sweat bathes people and is characterized by intense discomfort, the difference in electrodermal activity, nasal tip temperatures and grief expressions were surprisingly small when comparing the loss of significant and insignificant data. This shows that even the loss of insignificant data has negative physical manifestations, with respondents becoming aware of how important these data are for themselves when they believe they have lost them.
Dr. Astrid Carolus, Media Psychologist at the University of Wuerzburg, said:
“Our experiment shows that people – at least so far – rarely value their data. It is one of our future challenges to help people understand what companies already know: data is valuable. So it's important to highlight what the data represents and what it means to people personally. In order topriceare their data, people need to understand or even feel, for example, that photos are not just images and contacts are not just addresses. These categories of data are probably the most valuable memories of people's lives and their representation of social connectedness and coexistence. The value of data must be communicated. Only then can people realize how valuable their data is."
Andrei Mochola, Head of Consumer Business of Kaspersky Lab, commented:
"Research reveals that the issue of data loss causes emotional and physical reactions in humans. However, the reality seems to be that people do not really know which category of data is most valuable to them until it is lost, with people having strong bodily reactions even when they think they have lost insignificant data. Maybe this explains why people do not give in to the data they store in smartphones, their tablets and computers love and protection that they deserve, despite the emotional attachment they claim to have to them. "They still have to really understand the value of their data and take the appropriate measures to protect them."
For more information on experiment and study, please refer to report as well as to the related video.
