More sustainable internet browsing? I hear you thinking... Is that possible? Yes it can. Indeed, all those cute cat videos, evenings of series binging and cosy app conversations with your mum are not so innocent. With our internet and data consumption, we put a strain on the environment. In collaboration with Odido, we have some simple tips that will help you be a lot more sustainable on the world wide web. And don't worry, it won't slow down your internet a bit. Have you made these switches yet?
Five ways to make your internet usage a bit more sustainable
In partnership with Odido
What exactly about the internet at home and the negative impact on the planet? Well, you shouldn't take that lightly, then. From BBC research shows that all gadgets, internet usage and data traffic together account for 3.7% of global emissions. So no time to waste and get to work on more sustainable internet habits!
Clean up your photo and video cloud
You probably take photos, videos and screenshots on an ongoing basis, even though you will only need most pictures for a short time. While all those unused photos and videos are stored in the cloud. And for this, data centres are hard at work. And those very data centres use a lot of energy and water. So clear out that photo and video library in the cloud and you'll immediately do a good deed (note: this is different from the local film roll on your phone). You also have handy apps that help you clean up, I personally use Google Files. This app recognises duplicate photos and puts noticeably large and blurred files into separate folders that you can so - hop - delete in one go. iPhone has something similar I understand from iPhone users and it's called ‘duplicate parts folder’. Want to know more about this? Earlier, we wrote an article about it with photo organiser, a kind of digital Marie Kondo.
Sustainably binging your favourite series
Even if you stream a tasty series on the couch in ignorance, you are on the internet and therefore using data. By lowering the resolution of your series and films from HD to standard quality, you can make big savings. If you are a heavy streamer and would do so for a month, you would already save a 150-kilometre car journey, research shows.
Good WhatsApp habits
Are your automatic backups on or off in WhatsApp? Better turn them off soon, because all those back ups are - you guessed it - stored in the cloud, and data centres have to work hard for that. While you're at it on WhatsApp, check where all those cute gifs and photos you regularly receive stay. You can adjust the settings so that they don't end up on the film roll and thus not in your cloud. Again, saves something. Oh, and don't forget to delete old group apps. Is also data again... Yes, you read it, you can leave a lot of junk in the cloud too.
More sustainable internet: email hygiene
Did you know that a year of sending 20 emails every that is equivalent to the CO2 emissions of driving a thousand kilometres by car? This has been researched by the online editors of Een Vandaag. All that mail may have become convenient and an indispensable way of communicating, but it is not really sustainable. What can you do? Well a number of things:
- Clean up your mailbox (all those mails are also cloud storage again).
- Mails with attachments are more burdensome. Make attachments small or even better: use zip files or links to send things.
- Unsubscribe from all newsletters you no longer read (and delete all old ones). Tip from a follower of thegreenlist.nl: search your mailbox for the word ‘unsubscribe’ and you will find almost all newsletters, as most newsletters use this word. Smart!
Make the switch and go for a more sustainable search engine Ecosia
How do you search the internet? You can also make a difference with the search engine you use. Set the search engine Ecosia as your default search engine and you have taken another more sustainable step. This search engine puts part of its profits towards green projects and the search result for you is just as good. In case you think Chat GPT is a solution to many problems, we get it. But oef, those robots can do something too.
Getting started with your internet use at home
As using the internet less is out of the question for many people, we hope these ideas have inspired you to enjoy the fine and oh-so-handy internet at home a little more sustainably without completely running out. With these small switches, you can already make a nice sustainable step, while you can still enjoy your favourite series and chat with your mum. Good luck! Do you have another great tip? Mail the editors! You can get in touch with us via the follow and contact buttons at the bottom of this page.
Sources: datanews.knack.be, bbc.com/future, Een Vandaag, Nieuwsuur (31 May 2023). Photo credits: Peter Olexa (Pexels).
