Easy access to information online has caused “digital amnesia” in the connected world, with people relying on Google to remember things for them. This has led to people forgetting important information such as phone numbers. The impact of this is debated, with some arguing it doesn’t make us dumber, while others argue it makes us more shallow.
Over the years, many people have complained that certain technological advances have done as much harm as good, from calculators taking away the need to learn math to spell checker cleaning up our mistakes. It now appears that Google, the popular Internet search engine, is being blamed for some of our oversights. According to one study, having easy access to so much information online has caused “digital amnesia” in virtually the entire connected world. For example, the study found that 70% of parents don’t remember their children’s phone numbers, and one in two people in a relationship don’t remember their partner’s number. That memory leak has been called the “Google effect,” and it occurs because we know we don’t have to remember some things that are just a web search. Whether such mistakes are a cause for concern is debatable, with some people arguing that having easy access to information doesn’t make us dumber, while others argue that this mental life of leisure makes us more shallow.
Are you forgetting something?
In general, it is believed that people’s short-term memory allows us to keep about seven things in mind for about 30 seconds.
Testing on material you want to remember has been shown to be at least as effective as studying it beforehand.
Even if amnesia does occur, it’s far more common to be unable to form new memories than to forget old ones.
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