Want to Remember Your Trip? Put Away Your Phone
Matteo Colombo/Getty Images
by Julia Savacool
If you find yourself staring into the Grand Canyon, skip the Instagram post. People who share their experiences on social media form hazier memories Opens a New Window. than those who put down the phone, suggests a study in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.
Researchers sent 129 people to tour a church on the Stanford University campus. Some took pictures to post on social media Opens a New Window. , while others simply visited. A week later, they were asked to write down everything they remembered Opens a New Window. about the building. Counterintuitively, those who snapped images recalled fewer details of the place.
One possible reason? Taking photos for social media Opens a New Window. cues people to think superficially about what they’re seeing—such as wondering how many likes a photo will garner—rather than let them be fully present to make memories. Another reason: Walking, absorbing information, and snapping pics require multitasking. So do as your parents did and snap one photo—then just take it all in.
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