Smartphones make people lazy and forgetful? New study challenges popular belief

Smartphones are bad for memory and turn people lazy: It is a popular belief that doesn’t invite much debate. However, a new study claims that digital devices including smartphones could instead improve memory skills. 

Published in Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, the research argues that smartphone-like devices enable people to store and recall information of importance. Thus, the devices help by freeing up human memory to remember additional stuff that may be less important. Hence, these devices help in not just recalling information stored in their memory but also what is not stored by the user, claims the study. 

The research put 158 volunteers (18-71 year old) through a memory test where they could set reminders for half the tasks on their smartphones and had to recall others based on their memory.  Users saved high value information on their devices, helping improve their memory for the particular information by 18 percent. For low value information, memory skills improved by 27 percent despite no reminders on smartphones. 

The research, however, also observed that smartphone dependency made remembering the high value information tough when people did not have access to reminders. 

"We found that when people were allowed to use an external memory, the device helped them to remember the information they had saved into it. This was hardly surprising, but we also found that the device improved people's memory for unsaved information as well," said senior author Sam Gilbert from University College London (UCL) in the UK.

The study contradicts earlier concerns by neuroscientists that technology overuse may cause “digital dementia” by leading to cognitive failure.

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(With inputs from agencies)