Is Technology Worsening Our Memory?

Monday night I told my grandma I wanted to take a picture of her to send to my dad. 

She posed and then remarked something along the lines of, “Isn’t it crazy how everything is photographed these days?” 

A little bit later into our dinner, we were having a discussion about the current condition of Tiger Woods. I don’t like using my phone at the dinner table, but I pulled it out to do a quick search of the latest updates on the professional golfer’s state from his recent car crash. 

Again, my grandma suggested how amazing it is to have such readily available information at our fingertips. 

It wasn’t until later that I thought deeper about it all. 

Yes. It is incredible to have a single device capture every moment of our lives and provide information instantaneously. But I considered the question: Can these devices become too much of a crutch? 

I specifically thought about my grandma’s memory compared to my own. She is an adroit storyteller and at almost 96 years old her memory is incredibly keen. In all her stories, she mentions either the exact year or her age when the event took place. “It was the year 1942. . .” she would say, while I’m 22 years old and I would have to think for a minute if you asked me what year I got my license. 

One of my favorite stories my grandma told me was about her dating life, particularly while she was living in a boarding house at Old Salem. There was no texting, no snapchatting, and not even private calling. They shared one landline at the boarding house, so suitors would have to write down her phone number and cold-call hoping it would be the right time. She didn’t have to text or call her friends to tell them about her upcoming date. They were already right beside her, eagerly listening and waiting to hear all the details the moment she hangs up the phone. 

My grandma never had a smartphone to store information or photos. She used her memory. 

Now, we live in a world surrounded by technology, where we can text our friends about our upcoming date or even look up people online. We don’t feel the need to remember as much information, because it’s always available. 

I wouldn’t choose sharing one landline over having my own phone, but I think the lack of cell phones allowed my grandma, and others at the time, to appreciate each moment without any distractions, which resulted in a stronger retainment of every experience. 

I’m not sure if this is the case for others who have been growing up with smartphones, but I would love to hear feedback on how you think this technology may be affecting the way you perceive and remember events.

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