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Externalizing autobiographical memories in the digital age.

Emmaline Drew Eliseev1, Elizabeth J Marsh1

  • 1Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA.

Trends in Cognitive Sciences
|September 20, 2021
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Summary

Digital tools change how we externalize autobiographical memories, impacting attention and recall. Documenting and sharing experiences online alters memory processes, affecting what we remember about our lives.

Keywords:
cognitionepisodic memoryexternal memorytechnology

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Digital Humanities

Background:

  • Autobiographical memory externalization serves personal and social functions.
  • Digital technologies enable unprecedented documentation and sharing of memories.
  • Novel technologies present new contexts for memory processes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore how digital technologies influence the externalization of autobiographical memories.
  • To understand the impact of digital tools on memory processes and content.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of memory externalization in the digital age.
  • Examination of how smartphones and social media affect attention and memory recall.
  • Review of existing theories on autobiographical memory functions.

Main Results:

  • Digital technologies do not alter core memory processes but change their deployment.
  • Smartphones can impair memory by directing attention during event recording.
  • Social media use reactivates memories, potentially strengthening or updating them.

Conclusions:

  • Externalizing autobiographical memories via digital means changes attentional focus and memory content.
  • The digital age reshapes the experience and recall of personal memories.