WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A new study published in Memory & Cognition suggests that taking screenshots may actually make it harder to remember what we see.
The study involved 892 undergraduate students aged 17 to 27 at Binghamton University. In most experiments, students used their own smartphones to look at artwork. They were not told in advance that their memory would later be tested, making the experiments more similar to everyday smartphone use.
During the experiments, participants either screenshotted some images or simply looked at them. They then completed another activity, such as coloring or solving math problems, before taking a memory test. The test showed them an image they had seen along with two similar images, requiring them to remember specific details.
The researchers also conducted additional experiments to see whether screenshots might have other benefits. They tested whether taking screenshots helped people remember where they had seen something, freed up mental energy for another task, or improved memory for information viewed later. Overall, they found no meaningful benefits. In fact, participants were even less likely to remember whether they had screenshotted or simply viewed an image.
Interestingly, one experiment did find a small improvement in memory for images viewed after the screenshots were taken. However, this benefit was much smaller than the memory loss caused by taking the screenshots and appeared only under one of the scoring methods used.
The researchers suggested several possible reasons for the findings. One possibility is that taking a screenshot may divide our attention between saving the image and actually looking at it. Another possibility is 'cognitive offloading,' where we rely on our phone to remember something for us instead of making the effort to remember it ourselves.
However, the researchers pointed out that the study focused only on college-age participants, so it is unclear whether the same results would apply to older adults or people with memory problems.
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