Why Screenshotting Could Be Wrecking Your Memory

For many, taking screenshots has become second nature – an easy and effective way of storing information for future reference. But according to new research, it may come with some downsides for your brain.

A new study published in Memory & Cognition suggests that screenshotting an image may impair your ability to remember it. Previous research has shown that taking photographs can harm recall of the moment, particularly if you don’t review the photos afterwards – a common occurrence these days, with smartphone photo rolls often running into the thousands.

With their study, the researchers discovered that screenshotting may have a similar effect. “Just the simple act of pressing a couple of buttons is seemingly sufficient to worsen your memory for on-screen information, despite never having looked away from the screen,” says lead study author Sophia Fabrizio, a graduate student at Binghamton University.

So, should you stop relying on screenshots? Below, experts break down the study’s findings and explain what they mean for you.

What did the study find, exactly?

The researchers designed seven distinct experiments to measure how screenshotting affected participants’ ability to recall screenshotted images. A total of 892 people participated, all undergraduates. The design varied from experiment to experiment, but generally followed the same basic outline: Participants viewed images of art on their smartphone – and screenshotted some – and were later asked to identify the images they’d seen and screenshotted. Not only were the participants less able to remember the images they screenshotted, but they also weren’t able to reliably recall which images they screenshotted and which they simply viewed.

“In addition, we found that participants also had trouble accurately identifying which art pieces they had screenshots of on their device, suggesting that people probably have screenshots stored on their phones that they don’t even remember taking. This result indicates that participants may be disengaging broadly from an experience when taking a screenshot, rather than redirecting cognitive effort towards remembering that they have a screenshot of the information,” says Deanne Westerman, study co-author and professor of psychology and cognitive and brain sciences.

“The results are generally consistent with a growing body of research showing that memory for photographed or digitally captured information may be less robust than memory for information that is simply observed,” says Laura Boxley, a clinical neuropsychologist. “Digital tools often serve as external memory systems. Calendars, smartphones, search engines, photographs and screenshots allow us to store information outside of our own memory.”

In some ways, this is good – it provides access to more info than we’d be able to store in our own minds. But it comes with a downside: “The trade-off is that we may devote fewer cognitive resources to encoding information when we know it has been preserved elsewhere,” says Laura.

Why might taking a screenshot impair recall?

There are a few theories that might explain what’s happening here. One is the concept of ‘cognitive offloading,’ or the idea that when we store information externally, we subconsciously put less effort into storing it in our memory. Another possibility is that we engage less with material we screenshot. “Once information has been captured, people may feel less need to continue examining it or thinking about its meaning,” Laura explains.

It may also have something to do with attention, according to C. Munro Cullum, senior neuropsychologist at the O’Donnell Brain Institute and scientific director of the Texas Alzheimer’s Research and Care Consortium. “If you’re taking a picture or screenshotting and not really paying attention to the process and never review it again, you’re less likely to recall elements of that action,” Munro says. On the other hand, “if the action is more intentional and people are paying attention and interested, that may actually enhance performance.”

What are the limits of this research?

Experts caution against overinterpreting this data. Munro points out that the study evaluated participants’ ability to recall images of art – a very specific task, which has little to do with what we commonly mean when we talk about memory. “What they found were decrements in performance on some of the experimental memory tasks, which is different than reflecting an actual memory deficit,” Munro says. What’s more, the way people use technology in everyday life is much different from the laboratory experiments.

Laura agrees. “It’s important to recognise that much of this research has been conducted with relatively homogeneous samples, often college-aged adults in university settings,” she adds.

What’s the takeaway?

Screenshots are a tool – a very useful tool, if used correctly. But don’t equate taking a screenshot with committing information to memory. For one, we may not even remember we have the screenshot. “Unlike saving details for upcoming events in a digital calendar, there isn’t an easy way to set up reminders and notifications to review items in our camera roll,” Sophia says.

If you really want to memorise something, there might be better ways to go about it, though screenshots still have a place. “Research on learning and memory consistently shows that active engagement with information is more beneficial than passive storage,” Laura says. “Strategies such as summarising it in your own words, discussing it with someone else, writing down key points or testing yourself on the material are likely to be more effective than simply saving a screenshot. Screenshots can still be valuable, particularly if they are reviewed later.”

However, for some individuals – particularly those with memory disorders – the calculus is different. In those cases, a screenshot can act as an important memory aid, providing a cue that helps someone retrieve the information later, says Laura. “From a clinical standpoint, preserving function may be more important than preserving unaided recall,” Laura says. “For example, a screenshot of a medical appointment, medication instructions, directions or a family photograph may serve as a valuable cognitive aid. The goal isn’t necessarily to remember everything without assistance but rather to have reliable tools available when memory fails.”