With technology enhancing (or hindering) every aspect of our lives, a recent study published in Psychological Science looks at how clicking the "save" button affects our memories.
Sometimes, we click and save things mindlessly when we have a bout of insomnia (or "sleep-like" things on Facebook). Maybe we intend to show our friend that picture later or make that recipe in the future, but we just never get to it. We just plain forget.
But instead of getting upset that we forgot something, we should remember: forgetting helps us remember.
Sounds ridiculous when it's put that way, but three experiments conducted by Benjamin C. Storm and Sean M. Stone at the University of California show that saving a file frees up brain space for better processing of the next batch of information. Basically, we off-load information that isn't as meaningful and make space for more important news.
"We tend to think of forgetting as happening when memory fails, but research suggests that forgetting plays an essential role in supporting the adaptive functioning of memory and cognition," Storm said, according to PsyBlog.
In one test, participants were given a list of words to memorize. Some were instructed to save the file after they were through studying and other were not. Then, both groups were given a second list of words to memorize.
The people who saved the first file were able to recall the second batch of words better, according to PsyBlog.
"The idea is pretty simple: Saving acts as a form of offloading," Storm explained, according to PsyBlog. "By ensuring that certain information will be digitally accessible, we can re-allocate cognitive resources away from maintaining that information and focus instead on remembering new information."
We might not know off-hand what the first file says, but we know where to access it, so our full attention can be given to the second task.
"As technology develops, computers and smart phones are making it easier and easier to save information, which seems to have important consequences for the ways in which our memory functions," Storm said, according to PsyBlog. "By treating computers and other digital devices as extensions of memory, people may be protecting themselves from the costs of forgetting while taking advantage of the benefits."
"Coming up with a new idea or solving a problem often requires that we think outside the box, so to speak, and forgetting previous information allows us to do that," Storm continued, according to PsyBlog. "By helping us to reduce the accessibility of old information, saving may facilitate our ability to think of new ideas and solve difficult problems."
