Digital Amnesia: How Technology Alters Our Memory
by Talya Erbil
The notes app on my phone has become an extension of my memory. Every day I am met with new tasks, books I need to read (but never do), new passwords, emails, and names, and because I “know” I will forget I open my notes app and write it down. I am currently standing at 228 notes, two hundred and twenty-eight extensions of my memory, and two hundred and twenty-eight times I trusted my phone over my memory. This sort of reliance on technology is called, ‘digital amnesia,’ the tendency to forget information easily retrieved online or stored on our digital devices.
Digital amnesia can impair our ability to remember, a report by Kaspersky Lab stresses that we are increasingly reliant on our electronic devices to remember for us. This reliance leaves us vulnerable to unforeseen technological issues such as information being lost or stolen. Kaspersky Lab’s research also shows that many people do not know about the precautionary measures to take against data exposure such as using IT security. Transactive memory systems, a term coined by Daniel Wegner, are closely related to the idea of external memory storage, both of which are prevalent in understanding digital amnesia. This system is how groups encode, store, and retrieve knowledge collaboratively. Technology now plays a crucial role in our transactive memory system in modern culture. Electronic devices retain enormous amounts of both episodic memory and semantic memory, which is our understanding of ideas and facts. The devices serve as a crutch to our memory both helping and hurting it: a double-edged sword.
The concept of cognitive offloading shows a positive side to external memory. Offloading is the use of physical action to change the way the task is encoded in our memory, alleviating the mental effort it takes to remember said task. A good example is where we started, setting reminders on your phone. Technology really can be an expansion of our memories, but as we transition more of our cognitive tasks to digital devices we are at risk of digital amnesia. Distributed memory is used in transactive memory systems, where the act of remembering occurs outside of the brain, weaving through a network of agents that encompasses not only technological devices and interpersonal interactions but also the broader symbiotic relationships we share with our environment.
Technology is a partner in this system that holds information that we decide not to retain internally when it comes to cognitive offloading. There's a worry that relying too much on cognitive offloading may impair our brains' "memory muscles," or the parts of our brain that encode, retain, and retrieve information. If we don't routinely use our memory systems for remembering things, they may deteriorate, much like muscles that atrophy without exercise. Our dependency on electronics has a major impact on our ability to remember and retell events. This technology has allowed for personal, cultural, and many more types of memories to be shared and stored across the world. Setting reminders or other forms of cognitive offloading to technology demonstrates the value of external memory, but also runs the risk of "digital amnesia.” Our knowledge of collective memory creation is challenged by the differences in collaborative memory dynamics between in-person encounters and virtual settings, which have become essential for work and study. In this connected digital world, retaining strong cognitive abilities requires balancing the use of technology. Within the world of social media, our autobiographical memories have found a new platform. Social media sites like Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook…etc grow to be extensions of our memories. In the digital age, the way we curate our life stories determines who we are, and social media is a perfect outlet for that. However, this entwining of technology and memory begs the question: Are we strengthening our sense of self, or are we limiting our memory, fostering a dependency that may weaken our cognitive abilities? Our sense of identity requires real experiences, not just digital representations, much as our memory systems need exercise to be strong. We maintain the continuity of our cultural and personal identities in a world where technology is becoming more and more integrated into the digital fabric by striking a balance between its convenience and the requirement for internal cognitive involvement.
As we outsource more and more of our memories to social media, our stories begin to live within it, sites like Facebook and Instagram serve as modern-day journals. Though it also presents ethical questions, this digital record provides a significant way of forming our identities. Or are we, again, cultivating a kind of "digital amnesia." It is a fine line to walk between using our digital memory extensions for convenience and using our own brains to stay true to who we really are. This has significant ethical ramifications, particularly when we take the legal sphere into account. Through the lens of neurobiology, eyewitness testimony—which was long thought to be reliable—is now acknowledged to be flawed. "At every step, the formation, storage, and retrieval of memories may be influenced or distorted by other cortical processes or by illness and injury," states the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Law, Brain & Behavior. This information highlights that a revaluation of the importance we place on human memory in legal settings, taking into account the intricacy and susceptibility to manipulation of recollection is necessary. Technology has a lot of value in the legal field, because of this I think it is important to try and find a symbiosis between technology being helpful without compromising our cognitive resilience as we negotiate the intersection of memory, identity, and technology. We can maintain the integrity of our cultural and personal narratives in a world where technology is becoming more and more ingrained by striking a balance between the need for internal cognitive engagement and the temptation of digital convenience.
The future of memory is at a crossroads as we continue to integrate technology into every aspect of our everyday lives. Notes apps, crammed with all of the details of our lives, are a symbol of this shift and our preference for digital memory over brain recollection. Looking ahead, we need to consider how we may use technology to complement, not replace, the rich tapestry of human memory. How do we make sure that the very instruments meant to strengthen our memories don't end up being the masterminds behind forgetfulness? Let our digital tools be the custodians of our memory, not its undertakers, technology should be used to strengthen our cognitive abilities. Going forward, let's utilize our notes app to help us remember things, not to replace our own memory. As we move forward, let's use our notes app as a scaffold to support and enhance our natural ability to remember things, rather than as a way to relieve ourselves of the stresses of memory.
Sources:
- Kaspersky Lab. The Rise and Impact of Digital Amnesia: Why We Need to Protect What We No Longer Remember. Kaspersky Lab, PDF file. https://media.kasperskycontenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/100/2017/03/10084613/Digital-Amnesia-Report.pdf. Accessed 14 Nov. 2023.
- Risko, Evan F., and Sam J. Gilbert. "Cognitive Offloading." Trends in Cognitive Sciences, vol. 20, no. 9, 2016, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364661316300985. Accessed Accessed 15 Nov. 2023.
- Michaelian, Kourken, et al. "Social Remembering in the Digital Age: Implications for Virtual Study, Work, and Social Engagement." Memory, Mind & Media, vol. 1, 2022, Cambridge University Press https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/memory-mind-and-media/article/social-remembering-in-the-digital-age-implications-for-virtual-study-work-and-social-engagement/44182A64B7A0BDF9A5F07560D2599C4A Accessed 15 Nov. 2023.
- Bluck, Susan, and Nicole Alea. "Remembering Being Me: The Self Continuity Function of Autobiographical Memory in Younger and Older Adults." Self Continuity: Individual and Collective Perspectives, edited by Fabio Sani, Psychology Press, 2008, pp. 55–70.https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2008-10052-005 Accessed 16 Nov. 2023.
- Memory." Center for Law, Brain & Behavior, Massachusetts General Hospital, https://clbb.mgh.harvard.edu/memory/. Accessed 18 Nov. 2023.