香港六合彩中特网

In a recent study, published in Memory, researchers from 香港六合彩中特网鈥檚 Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience explored the issue of memory and how it is affected by technology.

Lead author Chiara Scarampi said: 鈥淚n today鈥檚 technological society we increasingly offload our memories into external devices, for example relying on smartphone alerts to remind us of upcoming appointments instead of using our memory. As a result,聽people worry that overuse of this sort of technology might be harming our memory ability.鈥�

Given that there is very little hard evidence about whether technology harms or helps our ability to remember, the researchers wanted to explore whether there is any truth to the fear that overuse of digital aids can erode our memory. 聽

In the study, participants performed a brief task where they had to remember information either using their memory or with the help of external reminders on a computer. 聽They then tested their memory afterwards and found no evidence to suggest that using reminders harmed a participants鈥� subsequent memory ability. However, what they did find was a clear effect on the likelihood of participants reaching for such memory aids again 鈥� discovering that just a single application of a memory technology could make people more likely to rely on such memory aids again, which can improve their ability to retain information.

The study indicated that people鈥檚 fears about the use of technology may therefore be misplaced. While there is little evidence that using memory technology will significantly harm our ability to remember, there is however a clear risk that if people avoid technology they will fail to make use of these strategies which are often effective and helpful.

Senior author, Dr Sam Gilbert, said: 鈥淪ome people may avoid memory technology because of the idea of 鈥榰se it or lose it鈥� - that is, you have to keep your mind active to stay mentally healthy. There鈥檚 no doubt that keeping your mind active is good for you, but memory technology can actually help rather than hinder this.鈥�

He said overall their research suggests the fear of an overuse of technology harming our ability to remember could be just as bad as the possibility that if we use technology too little we might not benefit from its capabilities. 聽

鈥淔ears espoused in headlines warning about 鈥榙igital dependence鈥�, 鈥榙igital amnesia鈥� and even 鈥榙igital dementia鈥� need to be balanced against the very real problems that can occur when we fail to make use of convenient and reliable memory tools,鈥� said Dr Gilbert.

鈥淔or instance if you choose to write down your shopping list or store it in a digital device, this can actually free your mind to think about other things which are potentially more valuable,鈥� he added.

The researchers will conduct further investigations as to whether there are differences between the way younger and older people use reminders, as well as to better understand how people make decisions about the cost/benefit of memory technology, with the aim of designing interventions that promote optimal use of cognitive tools.

Links

• 香港六合彩中特网 Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience