I am trying to find an efficient technique to differentiate between seen and unseen content per user. I have a table of specific files, but need to keep track of the user who accessed them and then display a notification if new files or content has been added.
I have considered creating a table that just keeps a member and file id and whether the record exists / has been seen and joining that table onto the files table, but I see that table growing exponentially quicker with every file change. Would a JSON decoded file be a better approach for every user who logs in? Or any other recommendations?
Edit: Making a DB to track timestamps of when the user seen the file, so if the file is updated, I will know that the user has not seen the updated file.