Can Taking Photos Reduce Your Ability to Remember Things?
Understanding the “Photo-Taking Impairment Effect”
I admit it. I am an information junky.
While surfing the ‘net, I’ll often bookmark a page or save it to Evernote to read later.
But then, I don’t read it later. There’s never enough time.
I sometimes do the same with life experiences. It is too easy to snap a picture of the moment, believing that I’ll examine it later when I look at the photo.
When I don’t have a camera or forget my phone at home, I panic because it feels like I’m missing out on something by not snapping a picture of it. Have you ever felt that way?
Recent studies show that the opposite is true. Taking photos of everything can harm our ability to experience the moment fully and remember it.
Have you ever taken a photo of something with the intention of remembering better, only to find that you couldn’t recall many details of the experience later on? You’re not alone.
There are scientific reasons for this.
Many studies have proven that taking photographs, especially in large quantities, can impair our ability to remember the details of an experience.
