Taking Photos Might Not Make You Remember the Moment Better

A new study suggests that by taking a picture, instead of helping someone to remember an event, it may actually cause memory loss.

The study, printed in the journal Psychological Science, was given to the public this week. Results showed that individuals who took photographs of objects seen during a museum tour were less likely to remember facts than people who have only gazed at the items.

On a guided tour of an art museum early this year, 28 university students were told to simply observe 15 objects and to photograph 15 others. Dr Linda Henkel was studying the students all the while to measure whether taking photographs affected their memory. 

"People just pull out their cameras," says study author Linda Henkel, researcher in the department of psychology at Fairfield University in Connecticut. "They just don't pay attention to what they're even looking at, like just capturing the photo is more important than actually being there."

"People so often whip out their cameras almost mindlessly to capture a moment, to the point that they are missing what is happening right in front of them," she said.

"When people rely on technology to remember for them - counting on the camera to record the event and thus not needing to attend to it fully themselves - it can have a negative impact on how well they remember their experiences."

Henkel is investigating whether the content of a photograph - for example, whether you are in it - affects memory. She also wants to explore whether actively choosing what to photograph might influence what we remember.

"Research has suggested that the sheer volume and lack of organization of digital photos for personal memories discourages many people from accessing and reminiscing about them," Henkel said.

"To remember, we have to access and interact with the photos, rather than just amass them."