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SCREENSHOTS | TECHNOLOGY | DIGITAL AMNESIA | MEMORY | PSYCHOLOGY
Digital Amnesia: Why Taking Screenshots Is Impairing Your Memory
Recent research shows that taking screenshots can backfire. We think we’re saving mental effort, but we may be impairing our memory instead
When Saving Information Doesn’t Mean Remembering It
If you’ve ever taken screenshots of messages on Facebook or on your computer, you might recognise this trend. Recent research published in the journal Memory & Cognition (Fabrizio et al., 2026) shows that taking screenshots makes it harder to remember afterwards. The researchers conducted experiments extending beyond their initial findings that taking screenshots reduced memory.
This recently happened to me when I took a screenshot of a Facebook message to remember the details, but I later forgot them. It also happened when I captured a window notice with dates I intended to remember later, but didn’t. We think it’s easier to remember because we cognitively offload from our memories to our phones — and that’s the error in our thinking.
