IdeasTed: If you really want to remember a moment, try not to take a photo
“People worldwide upload more than one billion images a day, preserving their memories to enjoy them in the future. But it turns out: all our photography may be obstructing our recall, says tech podcaster Manoush Zomorodi.
When it comes to obsessional tech habits, photo-taking probably isn’t the worst for relationships. If you’re not gazing into someone’s eyes, at least you’re pointing an iPhone at them. But how does that persistent need to capture the moment — which so many of us feel — change how we actually experience the moment, both in the present and when we try to recall it down the line? The answer is quite illuminating.
One of the major reasons we take photos in the first place is to remember a moment long after it has passed: the birth of a baby, a reunion, a pristine lake. Linda Henkel, a professor of psychology at Fairfield University in Connecticut, studied how taking photos impacts experience and memory. She crafted an experiment using a group of undergraduates on a guided tour of the university’s Bellarmine Museum of Art. The students were asked to take photos of objects that they looked at on the tour and to simply observe others. In one study, students were told to take photos of objects at a museum — and they remembered fewer of the overall objects they had photographed. They also couldn’t recall as many specific visual details of the photographed art, compared to the art they had merely observed.
“When you take a photo of something, you’re counting on the camera to remember for you,” Henkel said. “You’re basically saying, ‘Okay, I don’t need to think about this any further. The camera’s captured the experience.’ You don’t engage in any of the elaborative or emotional kinds of processing that really would help you remember those experiences, because you’ve outsourced it to your camera.” In other words, if your camera captures the moment, then your brain doesn’t.”
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What are your thoughts about photographs and their impact on recall? Share below.
#Photos #Memory #Cognition #Experiences
Thanks for the article! This makes me realize that I need live more in the moment and enjoy it without the camera ✨️
@gentleSail2728
I used to take videos of every song at the concert and then I realized I do not even watch the concert anymore and I actually enjoyed it more without it!
Wow. So this clarifies what I already inherently knew and hated as a child - that my parents and grandparents obsession with recording everything was because they were so freaked out they would forget something that they forgot they even had a memory. I remember being so upset as a teen and child (and adult) for the constant photo shoots we had to do for whatever occasion or whatever. It hurt me inside knowing they didn’t trust their memory. I’m part native too and natives have long spoken of how they don’t want their picture taken or to be recorded as it’s only captures a soulless moment or moments in time. I’m truly understanding that now☁️
@globalBraid3744
@Dalladi
I can relate! My parents were always taking videos of us as children and then played them at family gatherings and we hated it. I think a person does not necessarily do it out of fear of forgetting but maybe to also share it with other family or loved ones. It is nice that you identified with your culture and you see the beauty of being a native.
@globalBraid3744 i dont think we need to capture each and every moment but doing it in a balanced manner is good too
i think taylor swift video for her song about her grandmother marjorie is a great example
photographs and videos memorialize moments better than we ever could because our memories are biased and fickle they change into what we want them to be photographs capture moments as is
i think there needs to be a balance
We shouldn't spend each and every occasion behind a camera too busy capturing instead of experiencing but commemorating those occasions with some photographs is great too
@zealousGrace5023
I completely agree with you! I think it is good to find a balance between capturing the moment and enjoying it without the camera. To be honest, I have always liked short videos like Marjorie - it tells a whole story! I liked taking photos, but I recently noticed that making a short video captures much more from the moment and the whole atmosphere.
@globalBraid3744 yeah anything small to commemorate is just perfect!
