Hello
Everyone
In my part
of the world, particularly around holiday time there is a trend to take a photo
of yourself and post it on social media.
Even a former Prime Minister of Australia was a key proponent of this
"selfie" trend.
There could
be a good reason to limit this activity.
A study from
Connecticut University indicates that taking photos rather than just
concentrating and being totally present to a situation prevents memories from
forming and taking hold. They even have
a name for this "photo-taking impairment effect".
Some people
are almost mindless in their desire to record
every moment rather than take in the present moment.
The key
point seems to be that "in order to remember, we have to access and
interact with photos rather than just amass them." The large numbers of digital photos
that can be accrued can actually be a disincentive to organise and register
them in the memory.
This is
interesting research as most people would agree that the greatest gift you can
give another is one's presence rather than a photo. Yet the mere fact of concentrating on getting
the photo rather than fully enjoying the situation might mean that the occasion
does not live long in the memory.
