Digital Multimedia and Human Memory - Preventing Technology-Driven Memory Degradation

EPSRC Priority Area: Human-Computer Interaction
Advances in technology have led to digital multimedia becoming a staple of everyday life in society. However, as technology becomes more integrated into daily activities, this may have consequences for cognitive processes such as memory. Sparrow, Liu, and Wegner (2011) found that people find it easier to recall where to find information online than the information itself, and thus propose that the internet is being used as external memory storage space. Furthermore, a review by Wilmer, Sherman, and Chein (2017) suggests cognitive domains beyond memory may be degraded by digital multimedia, for example attention or emotional regulation.
However, digital technologies have been found to improve memory in some cases. Mikusz, Clinch, Shaw, Davies and Nurmi, (2018) found that screens around university campuses could be utilised to display memory cues to aid students. This shows that the integration of technology into society can be used to aid memory as well as cause cognitive degradation.
There is a lack of consensus in the research over how technology can affect memory and at present little research offers an explanation as to why memory degradation takes place, and how this interacts with different forms of digital multimedia. As children of younger ages are using technology, there is a further gap in the research regarding the long-term effects of using technology on memory.
Research questions
The following research questions will be addressed over the course of PhD study:
1) When does digital multimedia lead to technology causing memory degradation, and when can technology benefit memory?
2) How does long-term use of technology such as iPads and tablets from a young age affect memory performance?
To investigate 1) participants will be asked what forms of technology they use and for what length of time in an average day. They would also undergo memory tests assessing both recall and recognition. This could then be analysed using a regression analysis to investigate whether there is a link between spending more time on digital devices and general memory performance and in what memory domains is there an effect. However, this would not assess memory performance over a longer period and thus may not reflect the way digital multimedia impacts memory over time. In particular, it may not adequately address the contexts under which people rely on technology over their own memory as described in the paper by Sparrow et al.. Therefore the results of the literature review will need to be considered before finalising an experimental procedure, so that factors such as situational context may be taken into account.
From the results of this initial investigation, an experimental procedure could be designed, investigating how changing the amount of time spent using digital devices impacts memory. The independent variable would be the amount of time spent on digital devices and the dependent variable would be performance on the memory test. The results of this study would help to inform recommendations regarding how long to spend using digital devices to reduce negative impacts on memory performance. This may also be impacted by the context in which people utilise technology and thus adjustments may be required to this design based on the results of previous studies conducted over the course of this project.
To address 2), a study investigating children's memory performance and whether there is a relationship with being given tablets to play with at a young age would be required. Parents would be asked if their child uses a tablet and if so from what age. Children would then undergo a simple, age-appropriate memory task to assess their memory ability. This would then be analysed using a correlational analysis to assess if the use of technology from a young age impacts memory performance.