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Though there are some important limitations in the experimental designs that have been discussed,
the work conducted to date does give us reason to be cautious about how we use new technologies.
The available evidence suggests that when we turn to these devices, we generally learn and
remember less from our experiences. While the research discussed in this section represents an
important step toward investigating the impact of smartphone technology on memory, it is equally
important to bear in mind that the sort of “memory externalization” that these articles focus on is by
no means a new issue. The same concerns could, for instance, be made regarding a Rolodex.
Invented in the 1950s, this ‘rolling index’ provided a system to organize one’s contacts into an easy
to access alphabetized structure. It allowed its users to remember where an individual’s contact was
located, rather than needing to memorize the full contact information. Determining whether
externalizing cognitive processes via smartphone is necessarily worse than externalizing cognitive
processes via older methods will be an important avenue for future research.
Written by:
Doctor Davide PEREGO
Neuroscientist, Psyco-Neuro Physiologist,
expert in psychopathology and neuropsychology
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