Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Life

Study finds posting on social media helps improve memory

The results of the study were released Wednesday. The lead author, Qi Wang, a professor of human development, concluded if people want to remember their personal experiences, the best way to accomplish this is to post them online.

Science Focus reports the study was conducted by having 66 Cornell students record their experiences for a week. Each experience was then rated by the student who assigned a number between one and five to each event. The more important or emotionally intense the experience was, the higher the rating. Students were also asked to note what experiences they had they posted to social media.

The students were then given two quizzes without being informed in advance. These tests were given at the end of the first week and one week later. It was found if a student posted an event on social media, he or she was more likely to remember it in both quizzes. The increase in being able to recall the matter during both tests was found to be significant. And students were better able to remember an event that was posted online regardless of what number they assigned it.

The study specifically singled out Facebook for its feature that reminds users of posts they made in previous years. This, according to Wang, encourages users to relive these experiences.

Wang said recalling and sharing experiences creates a sense of self and by using social media, this happens without people actually noticing it. Wang also said memory is selective but in the case of social media, the selection is done by an outside source. Interactive social media shapes how we view our experiences and how we look at ourselves.

But as Ann Brenoff, writing in Huffington Post asked, “Do we really want to remember what we had for lunch last year?”

The study has been published in the journal, Memory.

Written By

You may also like:

Life

Their stories are divided into before and after.

Social Media

Wanna buy some ignorance? You’re in luck.

Tech & Science

Under new legislation that passed the House of Representatives last week, TikTok could be banned in the United States.

Life

Platforms like Instagram and Pinterest often suggest travel destinations based on your likes and viewing habits.