I Do Think there is Some Truth to This

The Washington Post: How the internet is ruining your memory.

But now, that information is just a click or swipe away. And that’s making us worse at remembering things, according to academic research on the topic.

One journal article, published in Science in 2011, found that when people expect to have access to information online they are less likely to remember the actual facts, but more likely to remember how to find them.

In effect, we are already becoming one with the machine: “We are becoming symbiotic with our computer tools, growing into interconnected systems that remember less by knowing information than by knowing where the information can be found,” according to the Science article.

I do feel that my memory is getting worse at a rapid pace. Sure, some of it might be age-related but 8 hours a day on technology cannot be good for one’s memory. I need to go to one of those tech addiction rehab camps and break the habit but I can’t get off the internet long enough to go. On the other hand, the internet is a wonder and amazing and has been a great benefit to all of us in so many ways that a bad memory is a small price to pay.