Think taking a quick photo will help you remember something later?
A new study suggests it might actually do the opposite.
Researchers linked to Binghamton University in the US found that people who photographed information were less likely to remember its details than those who simply looked at it.
The effect is known as the “photo-taking impairment effect.”
The study, published in Memory and Cognition, suggests that saving something to your phone does not automatically make it easier to remember.
Your phone may be doing the remembering for you
Lead author Sofia Fabrizio, a doctoral student at Binghamton University, said people may be more likely to forget details when they take photos but never return to look at them.
And that could be a problem for many smartphone users.
Our camera rolls can now contain thousands of pictures, with new photos added almost every day.
Looking back at those images can help bring memories back. But simply taking a picture and forgetting about it may not have the same effect.
Researchers ran seven experiments
The team tested the idea through seven experiments.
Participants looked at artworks and were asked to photograph some of them. Later, they were tested on how much they remembered.
Those who took the photos themselves were significantly less likely to recall details than people who simply observed the information.
There was an interesting twist, though.
The same memory problem did not appear when photos were automatically taken by body-worn cameras.
Researchers believe the physical and mental effort involved in taking a picture could be part of the reason.
So should you stop taking photos?
Not necessarily.
Photos and screenshots are still useful for keeping information you may need later.
But the findings suggest there is a difference between saving something and actually remembering it.
If something really matters, it may be better to pause, pay attention, and take it in first.
Your camera roll can save the picture. It may not save the memory.
