Speaking about the research, UCL’s Dr Sam Gilbert said: “We wanted to explore how storing information in a digital device could influence memory abilities.
“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.”
Doctor Gilbert added: “The results show that external memory tools work. Far from causing ‘digital dementia’, using an external memory device can even improve our memory for information that we never saved.”
However, the authors cautioned this doesn’t mean people should rely entirely on their smartphones to remember key information.
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