According to the results of a new American study, excessive dependence on mobile phones and the internet has long-term effects on our memory and can lead to "digital amnesia.".
If you're struggling to remember a phone number , it's likely your smartphone is to blame. The more you rely on your smartphone, the more you forget, according to a study by the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience.
This problem is called "digital" amnesia, and it results in your brain adapting and relying too much on your phone and the always-accessible internet. As scientists point out, more and more people are storing important contact information and other things they need to remember on their digital devices, so they no longer bother to memorize details.
The survey, which surveyed 1,000 Americans and 6,000 Europeans from six countries, aged over 16, found that 90% of Americans are addicted to their mobile phones and the internet, with 44% admitting that the "smart" device they use contains all the information they need to remember.
Among European users, 71% of respondents could not remember their children's phone number, 49% their partner's phone number, and 47% could still remember their home landline number from their childhood. This shows that people used to be better at memorizing numbers important to their daily lives, while now they turn to their smartphones, where almost everything they need to know or remember is located.
