{"id":23897,"date":"2026-08-21T10:39:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T06:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/?p=23897"},"modified":"2026-08-21T10:41:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T06:41:19","slug":"why-do-we-forget-the-information-we-screenshot-a-new-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/why-do-we-forget-the-information-we-screenshot-a-new-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do we forget the information we screenshot? A new study"},"content":{"rendered":"

Taking a screenshot or photo to save information has become an integral part of our daily lives.<\/span> However,<\/span> according to a new study by psychologists at Binghamton University,<\/span> this practice actually contributes to forgetting information instead.<\/span> Published in the journal <\/span>Memory & Cognition<\/i>,<\/span> the paper reveals the hidden mechanisms of memory impairment often referred to as “digital amnesia.<\/span>“<\/span><\/p>\n

The study’s authors explain that capturing an event or information on a screen harms our memory\u2014a phenomenon scientists call the “photo-taking impairment effect.<\/span>” While reviewing captured material later helps with retention,<\/span> statistics show that the average person takes about 20 photos a day and stores up to 2,<\/span>000 images on their smartphone,<\/span> most of which are never looked at again.<\/span> Psychologists note that unless we actively use these images to stimulate memory,<\/span> the act of taking them only works to our detriment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Researchers conducted 7 different experiments and identified several mechanisms behind digital amnesia.<\/span> One is “cognitive offloading”\u2014when the brain stops spending resources to memorize information it knows is safely stored on an external device.<\/span> However,<\/span> the most notable cause identified is “attentional disengagement.<\/span>“<\/span><\/p>\n

Scientists concluded that the physical act of taking a screenshot or photo subconsciously forces us to disengage from the ongoing experience.<\/span> As a result,<\/span> we forget not only specific details but also the general context of the event (for example,<\/span> study participants could not recall which part of the museum they saw a particular painting in after photographing it).<\/span><\/p>\n

What is the best alternative?<\/span> Researchers advise returning to the traditional method:<\/span> pen and paper.<\/span> Writing information down by hand (such as taking notes during a lecture) forces the brain to process,<\/span> filter,<\/span> and find logical connections within the material.<\/span> In cognitive psychology,<\/span> this is known as a “desirable difficulty”\u2014a mental effort that significantly increases the chances of retention.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately,<\/span> taking screenshots only aids memory if done intentionally (in small amounts) and if the material is actually reviewed later.<\/span> Otherwise,<\/span> a constant buildup of screenshots produces the exact opposite effect.<\/span><\/p>\n

Springer<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Taking a screenshot or photo to save information has become an integral part of our daily lives. However, according to a new study by psychologists at Binghamton University, this practice actually contributes to forgetting information instead. Published in the journal Memory & Cognition, the paper reveals the hidden mechanisms of memory impairment often referred to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23896,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1594,1665,1587,1657],"tags":[6823],"class_list":["post-23897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-public-health","category-research","category-science","tag-screenshot"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23897"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23901,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23897\/revisions\/23901"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}