Outsourcing our Memory

by Madeline McCormick

Without even thinking about what I am doing, I pick up my phone and look to see if I have any new notifications. Did someone text me? Maybe I have a new email? Is my reminders app telling me to do something? I often stop to think about how this became a habit, and how it is affecting my everyday life.

Over the past 15 years, the use and access of technology has dramatically changed. Different platforms are constantly developing new software and apps targeted to try to help the human population. I can set an alarm to remind me to complete a task at a certain time, or I can write down my friend's birthday instead of actively trying to remember it myself. However, it is important to understand how technology may be positively and negatively impacting our neurological processes. Specifically, how does technology affect how and what we remember?

The main parts of the brain that are responsible for our memory are the hippocampus, the amygdala, and the medial temporal lobe. To commit and maintain something to our episodic memory, our brain goes through a process of encoding, storage, and retrieval. Encoding is when we are learning and perceiving something using our working memory. Storage is the act of maintaining that memory in your neural systems. Lastly, retrieval is when you can retrieve and recall a memory using cues.

Many different errors can happen during each of the stages in the memory cycle. One thing that can happen when using technology, that can cause errors in our memory cycle, is called cognitive-offloading. This is when we externally store information instead of committing it to our internal memory store. The internet acts as an external or transactive memory storage. Transactive memory can be thought of as a group mind. Meaning, it is where groups of people can encode, store, and access information. While the internet can be a great way to quickly search for information, it also can be damaging to us. In Josh Firth’s article, he mentions how it has been found that “internet searching can lead to reduced activation in brain regions associated with working memory and alterations in functional connectivity of memory retrieval circuits” (Firth, 2020, pg. 6). Our brain does not function to its fullest capacity, because it believes we will be able to retrieve information from the internet whenever we need to, so there is no use in memorizing it.

Issues with our metacognition can arise when we offload. Metacognition refers to the process of how you think and how you are aware of what you think. When we use an external source, like the internet, our human brains struggle to understand where the information is stored. Is it stored externally or internally? This makes it difficult to retrieve the information we need at a given time. Humans may fail to recognize the extent to which their memory is offloaded and may remain unaware of their own Internet-induced learning deficits” (Fisher, 2021, pg. 2). Being unaware of what is in our memory and where it is stored can cause a plethora of difficulties in setting where we are being tested in what we know.

In Matthew Fisher’s article (2021), he presents his findings from the five experiments that were conducted to explore how online research affects individuals' performance on tests. In addition, he tests an individual's awareness of how well they think they know the information they learned before they take the test. The mean data results for all 5 experiments can be seen below. Internet search participants predicted they would do the same if not better on the exams than non-internet search participants. However, internet search participants performed worse on exams than non-internet search participants. Conclusions were drawn that internet searching can introduce “cognitive laziness,” meaning that people who use the internet to learn become lazier to actually memorize information because it is easily accessible. There is an illusion of knowing something because you can quickly retrieve information. While this can be a great thing for determining facts quickly, it is not helpful when learning or studying for a test. There is probably diminished effort to learn.

In Schacter’s (2021) paper, he offers interesting data about internet and computer effects. One study mentioned presents data on participants who were asked to answer trivia questions. In one experimental group, participants were told that the computer would store their answers, and in the other experimental group participants were told that the computer would delete the information. Participants in the computer deleting group showed they had a better memory for the trivia answers than participants who were told that the computer would save it. However, the participants who were told the computer would save their answers knew where to find their answers, but could not recall the information themselves. This shows that there are negative effects to offsourcing information to a computer. Yet, “there are other conditions in which offloading items to external storage can impair memory for the offloaded items on a delayed memory test, but people who are aware that there will be a delayed test can largely overcome the detrimental effects of offloading on long-term memory” (Schacter, 2021, pg. 4).

With the information presented in this blog, I urge you all to take time to reflect on your own internet usage. While it can be a helpful tool to use to give you reminders about things to do, it is not the most effective tool when it comes to knowing information. If you truly want to remember something you need to make the effort to commit it to your own memory, and not rely on a transactive memory source such as a computer. To commit something to your memory, focus on repeating that information and coming up with certain cues to pull it out. Try to pay attention to what you are searching for, and be aware of where you are offloading if you are.