Exploring functions of and recollections with photos in the age of smartphone cameras

Abstract

People often report taking photos to aid memory. Two mixed-method surveys were used to investigate participants’ reasons for taking photos, focusing specifically on memory-related reasons, which were split into two sub-types: photos taken as mementos, and photos taken as a means of offloading information. Participants reported their motivations for taking a sample of photos and then rated their recollective experience of each photographed event. Across both studies, participants reported recollecting events associated with a memento goal more vividly, more positively, and with more emotional intensity than events associated with an offloading goal. As expected, events photographed with a memento goal were also rated by participants to be more reflective of a shared memory system between the participants and the camera than were events photographed with an offloading goal. These findings suggest that people’s motivations when taking photos tend to be associated with different types of recollective experiences, as well as different judgments about where personal information is located in a blended human-camera memory system.

Use of Photography in Organizational Research: Legitimacy and Potential

“…Society makes extensive use of photography (Bell & Davison, 2013). One of the reasons for this use is the practicality of photographing, whether by cameras or smartphones (Wilhoit, 2017), with vast technical possibilities for registering, improving, and disseminating (Soares & Storm, 2022). Photographs subjectively connect the viewer with the argument (Harper, 2005) and can be read to understand the nuances of interaction, selfpresentations, and relationships between people in their material environments (Harper, 1988).…”

“…One reason given by Bell and Davison (2013) for this restricted use is that researchers face challenges in demonstrating the scientific character of their research due to the inherently ambiguous and polysemic nature of the visual. This reduced use of photography in organizational studies contrasts with the technological advancements and the diversity of the means of photographs, which has enabled greater ease of use and provided high levels of photographic quality (Soares & Storm, 2022;Steyaert, Marti, & Michels, 2012). Thus, this reduced application is not linked to technical limitations but to researcher choices, often based on analyses of legitimacy in the field (Dimaggio & Powell, 1983;Shortt & Warren, 2019;Skjaelaaen, Bygdås, & Hagen, 2020).…”

What happens to memory for lecture content when students take photos of the lecture slides?

“…Anyone who has lectured within the last decade has probably had students hold up their phones to snap a photo of a lecture slide. Students likely take photos-at least in part-because they believe it will help them remember the content-either through the act of taking the photo itself enhancing memory or by affording the opportunity to use the photo as a memory cue later (e.g., Soares & Storm, 2021). However, there is little evidence that the act of photo-taking alone enhances memory.…”

Does taking multiple photos lead to a photo-taking-impairment effect?

“…Understanding the conditions under which the photo-taking-impairment effect occurs, is attenuated, and is exacerbated will inform our understanding of the cognitive mechanisms by which photo-taking, and using digital devices more broadly, affects memory. From an applied perspective, people photograph important life events, typically with the goal of supporting memory (Finley et al, 2018;Soares & Storm, 2021). Slight changes in approach when taking photos could protect against potential memory impairments.…”