Beware! Smartphones and internet may lead to Digital Amnesia

The fact that we are relying too much on smartphones and other mobile devices for our information needs, any loss of data becomes a reason for lot of stress.

The researchers found men and women were equally likely to succumb to digital amnesia and that it’s not just reserved for the young, finding it “surprisingly” prevalent among older generations.

The ability to find information online is crippling Britons’ memories, with 71% not being able to recall even their children’s phone numbers without having to check a device.

In the survey, seven in ten couldn’t remember their children’s phone numbers and almost nine in ten couldn’t recall the numbers for their children’s schools. The researchers warned the people that they are increasingly forgetting information because it is easily stored on their smartphones and it could be fetched, when needed.

The reports also revealed that only half of adults could instantly recall their phone numbers of their home, neighbours or siblings from when they were 10 to 15 years old.

Using Smartphones and Internet may Lead you to ‘Digital Amnesia’. “As consumers, it is important for all of us to understand the long term implications of this effect, and why it reinforces the need for us to diligently protect our valuable information and precious memories”, said Chris Doggett, managing director of Kaspersky Lab North America.

‘The act of forgetting is not inherently a bad thing, ’ said Dr Kathryn Mills, UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, London.

Despite this growing reliance on digital devices as the guardian of our memories, and the profound emotional impact of losing them, the study found that United Kingdom consumers are failing to adequately protect these devices with IT security.

One in four women and 38% of younger respondents said that they will panic in case of data loss or breach, as the devices are the only place they store images and contact information.

Researchers have been saying for a long time now that as we start storing more and more information on reserve storage on devices, we are actually encouraging our minds to erase them.

‘We are beautifully adaptive creatures and we don’t remember everything because it is not to our advantage to do so. “In many societies, having access to the Internet feels as stable as having access to electricity or running water”. Kaspersky Lab is an global company, operating in nearly 200 countries and territories across the globe, providing protection for over 400 million users worldwide.