wanting to collect things has to do with our primal survival instincts

One of those reasons is scarcity and the search for value, whether that’s emotional or monetary.

an accumulation of valuable scarce objects could give a person the resources to live a prosperous life.

the emotional value attached to objects is just as important. Lose your deceased grandmother’s antique necklace, and you’ll be losing something no amount of money can recover.

A collector may have met other collectors, and decided to nurture positive connections and increase their sense of belonging in a group.

people collect to keep those things accessible to them whenever they need it.

In web highlighters, all users share the same pleasure: collecting excerpts about topics of their interest, from people whose works they admire. It’s the place where they can find their “tribe”.