The Internet is Not Great (For Your Memory)

The "Google Effect" changes how your memory works, but won't actually make you dumber.

A new study from Columbia University suggests that internet usage changes the way people remember things. In a phenomenon called the "Google Effect," researchers found that people are less likely to retain information if they believe they can find it again by typing it into a search engine. In four studies, participants were asked to type trivia into a computer, and half the subjects were told the information would be retrievable. Those who thought they would not later be able to find the information proved significantly more likely to remember it. The authors insist that such "memory outsourcing" is neither new nor particularly troubling for humans, who have long relied on others to store and retrieve knowledge.