From: NPR
To Remember The Moment, Try Taking Fewer Photos
The sun is setting at the end of a gorgeous day at the beach — the light is just right, illuminating your kids’ faces as they play in the waves. You reach for your phone because you want to remember this perfect moment. But before you do, here’s a bit of surprising science that avid photo-takers need to know: Taking photos is not the perfect memory-retention tool you think it is.
Snapping too many pictures could actually harm the brain’s ability to retain memories, says Elizabeth Loftus, a psychological science professor at the University of California, Irvine. So you get the photo but kind of lose the memory.
It works in one of two ways, Loftus explains: We either offload the responsibility of remembering moments when we take pictures of them, or we’re so distracted by the process of taking a photo that we miss the moment altogether.
But photo-takers, don’t despair just yet. If you’re more intentional about the photos you take, they can actually help you capture that moment you’re hoping to hold onto.
…
Read the whole story (subscription may be required): NPR
More of our Members in the Media >
Comments
Lehigh Carbon Community College
Member
Member Since 12/06/2004
When I was in Germany on a Fulbright – my German colleagues teased me – “Oh here comes the American to record the moment by photo!” Just enjoy the moment they would tell me.
APS regularly opens certain online articles for discussion on our website. Effective February 2021, you must be a logged-in APS member to post comments. By posting a comment, you agree to our Community Guidelines and the display of your profile information, including your name and affiliation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations present in article comments are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of APS or the article’s author. For more information, please see our Community Guidelines.
Please login with your APS account to comment.