Study suggests that internet is actually ruining human memory

In the digital age, social media and the internet helps us keep track of several important dates and upcoming events or crucial information in our day to day life. But is this facility available to us doing more harm than good?

A study conducted by researchers by the University of California suggests that a tendency to rely on the internet and technology as an aide-memoire, also known as ‘cognitive offloading’, constantly increases.

This tendency can have adverse effects on our thought process for problem solving, recall and learning.

The study was conducted by Benjamin Storm, Sean Stone and Aaron Benjamin by diving participants in two groups, with one relying entirely on their memory and others using Google. They were then given the option of answering questions by the method of their choice.

The researchers observed their tendency to reach for a smartphone to answer questions, and found that those using Google spent very little time consulting their own memory before opting to look for the answer over the internet, while 30% of those who had consulted the internet failed to answer even a single question from their memory.

The results clearly indicated that the easy access to knowledge online and too much reliance on the internet to solve problems might prove counter-productive and ruin our memory.