Media usage diminishes memory for experiences

Tamir, Diana; Templeton, Emma; Ward, Adrian F.; Zaki, Jamil

doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2018.01.006

Cited by 63 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…However, other research indicates that engaging with media and technology more generally can impair memory. For example, the use of media to record or share thoughts during an experience harms subsequent memory for that experience compared with not using media to memorialize the experience (Tamir, Templeton, Ward, & Zaki, 2018). Similarly, the act of photographing objects can harm memory for those objects (Henkel, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

#foodie: Implications of interacting with social media for memory

Zimmerman

Brown‐Schmidt

2020

Cogn. Research

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Background: Social media is an increasingly popular outlet for leisure and social interaction. On many social media platforms, the user experience involves commenting on or responding to user-generated content, such as images of cats, food, and people. In two experiments, we examined how the act of commenting on social media images impacts subsequent memory of those images, using Instagram posts as a test case. This project was inspired by recent findings of laboratory studies of conversation which found that describing a picture for a conversational partner boosts recognition memory for those images. Here we aimed to understand how this finding translates to the more ecologically valid realm of social media interactions. A second motivation for the study was the popularity of food-and dieting-related content on Instagram and prior findings that use of Instagram in particular is associated with disordered eating behaviors. Results: Across two experiments, we observed that commenting on Instagram posts consistently boosted subsequent recognition and that correct recognition increased with comment length. Stable individual differences in recognition memory were observed, and "unhealthy" food images such as chocolates were particularly well remembered; however, these memory findings did not relate to self-reported eating behavior. Conclusions: Taken together, our findings show that the way in which we engage with social media content shapes subsequent memory of it, raising new questions about how our online lives persist in memory over time, potentially shaping future behavior.behavior. Taken together, our findings show that the way in which we engage with social media images shapes subsequent memory for them, raising new questions about how our online lives persist in memory, potentially shaping future behavior.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

#foodie: Implications of interacting with social media for memory

Zimmerman

Brown‐Schmidt

2020

Cogn. Research

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“…This result has been recently replicated by Soares and Storm (2018), who found that participants exhibit a photo-taking-impairment effect even when they do not expect to have subsequently access to the photos. Converging support has been provided by a further study showing that media usage can impair memory (Tamir et al, 2018).…”

Section: The Relationship Between Intention Offloading and Unaided Mementioning

confidence: 94%

“…Other research has documented instances where relying on external memory may prevent individuals from maintaining an internal representation of the information they are attempting to preserve (Henkel, 2014;Soares & Storm, 2018;Tamir, Templeton, Ward, & Zaki, 2018). Henkel (2014) documented a photo-takingimpairment effect by which participants may be less likely to remember objects they photograph rather than objects they simply observe.…”

Section: The Relationship Between Intention Offloading and Unaided Mementioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of recent reminder setting on subsequent strategy and performance in a prospective memory task

Scarampi

Gilbert

2020

Memory

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The effect of recent reminder setting on subsequent strategy and performance in a prospective memory task The technological advancement that is rapidly taking place in today's society allows increased opportunity for "cognitive offloading" by storing information in external devices rather than relying on internal memory. This opens the way to fundamental questions regarding the interplay between internal and external memory and the potential benefits and costs of placing information in the external environment. This article reports the results of three pre-registered online experiments investigating the consequences of prior cognitive offloading on A) subsequent unaided ability, and B) strategic decisions whether to engage in future cognitive offloading. We administered a web-based task requiring participants to remember delayed intentions for a brief period and manipulated the possibility of setting reminders to create an external cue. Earlier cognitive offloading had little effect upon individuals' subsequent unaided ability, leading to a small and nonsignificant drop in subsequent performance. However, there was a strong effect on participants' subsequent likelihood of setting reminders. These findings suggest that the short-term impact of cognitive offloading is more likely to be seen on individuals' strategy choices rather than basic memory processes.

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“…Taking a picture has been shown to enhance people’s memory for what they ate, even if they do not look at that picture again (Coary and Poor, 2016). At the same time, however, it is important to note that excessive media use has been shown to impair people’s memory for various kinds of experience (Tamir et al, 2018; see also Robinson et al, 2013). Dining is likely to be just like other kinds of experience in this regard.…”

Section: Technology Distracts/separatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digital Commensality: Eating and Drinking in the Company of Technology

2019

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Commensality is a key aspect of social dining. However, previous research has identified a number of pros and cons associated with the incorporation of digital technology into eating and drinking episodes. For instance, those who are distracted by digital technology may eat/drink more (that is, they may overconsume) as a result of their failure to attend to the food-related sensations that are thought to cue the termination of eating. Similarly, it has often been suggested that the use of mobile devices at mealtimes can disrupt the more commensal aspects of dining/drinking (at least among those who are physically present together). At the same time, however, looking to the future, it seems clear that digital technologies also hold the promise of delivering opportunities for enhanced multisensory experiential dining. For instance, they might be used to match the auditory, visual, or audiovisual entertainment to the eating/drinking episode (e.g., think only about watching a Bollywood movie while eating a home-delivery Indian meal, say). Indeed, given the growing societal problems associated with people dining by themselves, there are a number of routes by which digital technologies may increasingly help to connect the solo diner with physically co-located, remote, or even virtual dining partners. In this review of the literature, our focus is specifically on the role of technology in inhibiting/facilitating the more pleasurable social aspects of dining, what one might call "digital commensality." The focus is primarily on Westernized adults with reasonable access to, and familiarity with, digital technologies.

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Media usage diminishes memory for experiences

Cited by 63 publications

References 26 publications

#foodie: Implications of interacting with social media for memory

#foodie: Implications of interacting with social media for memory

The effect of recent reminder setting on subsequent strategy and performance in a prospective memory task

Digital Commensality: Eating and Drinking in the Company of Technology

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