Slaves to our smartphones? New study details digital amnesia

[webfact]

Slaves to our smartphones? New study details digital amnesia

BIRMINGHAM: -- Over reliance on smartphones and tablets is eroding our ability to remember, that’s the conclusion of a new study into digital amnesia.

As more and more of our important information is stored online, less and less of it is stored in our brains – the study found that in the UK 45.4 percent of those surveyed aged 16 or older could recall their childhood phone number, while 43 percent could remember their office number without looking up the information.

Europe-wide 56 percent could recall their childhood number, while 49.2 percent could remember their work number.

It also detailed the so-called Google effect, the study from cybersecurity firm Kaspersky found that 36% of those surveyed in the EU used search engines rather than recall to find out the answer to a question.

Researchers from UCL and the University of Birmingham confirmed that not memorising facts contributed to what they called ‘digital amnesia’. Dr Maria Wimber said that it could prevent the build-up of long-term memories meaning we would merely process information on a ‘moment to moment basis’.


-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2015-10-08

[micmichd]

You can only forget what you once knew.

If you work in office, you rarely have to learn and tell someone you're telephone number. I used to tell people "Call me back under the number you see on your display now." And I hardly called myself.

Why should I have ever learned my office telephone number?

Edited October 8, 2015 by micmichd

[NCC1701A]

buying a Casio Data Bank Calculator watch in the eighties was the beginning of this for me.

i could store phone numbers in the watch and no more reason to remember them like before.

i know i don't memorize my own addresses now in Thailand. i think. can't remember.

and instead of memorizing names of locations in Thailand i just keep looking them up on google maps. over and over.

sad... wait where am i...

[connda]

Check your smartphone,

Check your smartphone,

Zombies, zombies, zombies,

'eh 'eh 'eh.

[edwardflory]

I have had some type of a version of a ""mobile"" phone for 30 + years.

My first CAR " mobile" cost me $2154.17. Had 70 watts of power ( bribed a tech to to boost it to 100+ watts - ILLEGAL per sec ).

I could sit in NYC and access the local RCC in Boston, Washington, with a good "skip " and sitting on a hill top Atlanta, etc on the proper channel - there were 13 channels at the time. I also had a "handheld" - no screen, and a pager set to my mobile number...I had 3 stores at the time in widely seperated shopping centers

I say the above because people NOW ( especially women of ALL countries ) spend their whole day on "mobiles". I actually think that people using mobiles TODAY, spend more time in a month on the mobile, than I have done in 30 years. I have been in Thailand 19 months. About 24 months ago I bought a Thai Sim, put 3000Bt on it, and finally ran out of time 2 months ago - this also INCLUDES about 30 international calls - remember INBOUND calls are free.

( WE got up at 07:00, other than cooking breakfast and showering, my GF has been on her mobile since 07:05...it's now 12:11 )

My 'Casio Data Bank Calculator watch' had the plastic keys and metal case, my calculator watch before the Casio was the size of a bar of soap.

When I look at my phone NOW, and what is available via apps, it is totally amazing, Maps, access my bank account, games, camera, mp-3 player, movie player, access the net 24 hours from almost anywhere, WiFi, bluetooth applications, phone and address books....etc...etc...etc. We have come a LONG way in 30 years

[cornishcarlos]

I really would like to see all satellites go off line, just for 3-4 days... It would be chaos

[blazes]

I have had some type of a version of a ""mobile"" phone for 30 + years.

My first CAR " mobile" cost me $2154.17. Had 70 watts of power ( bribed a tech to to boost it to 100+ watts - ILLEGAL per sec ).

I could sit in NYC and access the local RCC in Boston, Washington, with a good "skip " and sitting on a hill top Atlanta, etc on the proper channel - there were 13 channels at the time. I also had a "handheld" - no screen, and a pager set to my mobile number...I had 3 stores at the time in widely seperated shopping centers

I say the above because people NOW ( especially women of ALL countries ) spend their whole day on "mobiles". I actually think that people using mobiles TODAY, spend more time in a month on the mobile, than I have done in 30 years. I have been in Thailand 19 months. About 24 months ago I bought a Thai Sim, put 3000Bt on it, and finally ran out of time 2 months ago - this also INCLUDES about 30 international calls - remember INBOUND calls are free.

( WE got up at 07:00, other than cooking breakfast and showering, my GF has been on her mobile since 07:05...it's now 12:11 )

My 'Casio Data Bank Calculator watch' had the plastic keys and metal case, my calculator watch before the Casio was the size of a bar of soap.

When I look at my phone NOW, and what is available via apps, it is totally amazing, Maps, access my bank account, games, camera, mp-3 player, movie player, access the net 24 hours from almost anywhere, WiFi, bluetooth applications, phone and address books....etc...etc...etc. We have come a LONG way in 30 years

Do you (and your gf) actually communicate other than to ask simple questions like "what time you coming home" or "where did you put the aspirin"? etc

[JGV]

Smart phones and tablets are killing meaningful social relationships and interaction

Result; Loneliness and isolation

[micmichd]

I have had some type of a version of a ""mobile"" phone for 30 + years.

My first CAR " mobile" cost me $2154.17. Had 70 watts of power ( bribed a tech to to boost it to 100+ watts - ILLEGAL per sec ).

I could sit in NYC and access the local RCC in Boston, Washington, with a good "skip " and sitting on a hill top Atlanta, etc on the proper channel - there were 13 channels at the time. I also had a "handheld" - no screen, and a pager set to my mobile number...I had 3 stores at the time in widely seperated shopping centers

I say the above because people NOW ( especially women of ALL countries ) spend their whole day on "mobiles". I actually think that people using mobiles TODAY, spend more time in a month on the mobile, than I have done in 30 years. I have been in Thailand 19 months. About 24 months ago I bought a Thai Sim, put 3000Bt on it, and finally ran out of time 2 months ago - this also INCLUDES about 30 international calls - remember INBOUND calls are free.

( WE got up at 07:00, other than cooking breakfast and showering, my GF has been on her mobile since 07:05...it's now 12:11 )

My 'Casio Data Bank Calculator watch' had the plastic keys and metal case, my calculator watch before the Casio was the size of a bar of soap.

When I look at my phone NOW, and what is available via apps, it is totally amazing, Maps, access my bank account, games, camera, mp-3 player, movie player, access the net 24 hours from almost anywhere, WiFi, bluetooth applications, phone and address books....etc...etc...etc. We have come a LONG way in 30 years

Do you (and your gf) actually communicate other than to ask simple questions like "what time you coming home" or "where did you put the aspirin"? etc

Yes, preferably face to face.

Via telecommunications if we are divided by long distances.

When I was in Germany, there was nothing meaningful to talk about with all these bored-out Germans, and I was glad I could communicate with my Thai gf. On Skype we could even see each other and make jokes. Those narrow-minded Germans thought I was nuts and only talking to myself.

I'm not a slave to a smartphone or computer, maybe a slave to internationalism. And I have a perfect memory, it's annoying to some people.

Guess not telecommunications causes digital amnesia, mass media *consumption* does.

Edited October 8, 2015 by micmichd

[Chicog]

[MaxYakov]

buying a Casio Data Bank Calculator watch in the eighties was the beginning of this for me.

i could store phone numbers in the watch and no more reason to remember them like before.

i know i don't memorize my own addresses now in Thailand. i think. can't remember.

and instead of memorizing names of locations in Thailand i just keep looking them up on google maps. over and over.

sad... wait where am i...

If your smarter-than-thou phone has GPS, you can ask it where you are. Or did you forget about that feature?

Edited October 8, 2015 by MaxYakov

[MaxYakov]

Smart phones and tablets are killing meaningful social relationships and interaction

Result; Loneliness and isolation

Most of the Thai women I know sleep with their phones and I'm wondering which ones bought the new cylindrical, vibrating models to do their more satisfying selfies.

Edited October 8, 2015 by MaxYakov

[Colabamumbai]

There is a reason they are called "Cell Phones". They keep you in your own little prison.

People have stopped talking to one another, they are too busy texting someone who is not there.

[connda]

I really would like to see all satellites go off line, just for 3-4 days... It would be chaos

What people don't realized, all cozily wrapped in their normalcy-bias, is that we are over-due for a Carrington Event X-Class solar flare. Hopefully instead of an X-40, maybe we only get hit with an X-15 or so: just enough to cause limited chaos without destroying the entire electrical infrastructure, including the electric pumps supplying water to the 400 odd nuke plants around the world. If those all melt down, we have an 'extinction event' on our hands.

No, what the psychopathic world leaders need if for the public to freak out just enough to demand change, in other word, to get off their butts and shield the primary electrical grids from such events.

But agreed. A few billion people would be all freaked out because they can't access their favorite social media network and post selfies of themselves with an awesome Aurora Borealis in the background night sky.

Edited October 8, 2015 by connda