A simple theory for why social media wrecks your memory — ajsharp
there is lots of research that shows a correlation between social media use and memory impairment. “social media = bad for mental health” is almost obvious at this point. but it’s less obvious why, exactly, it’s probably destroying your ability to remember things.
here’s my (not a doctor) theory: continuous scrolling creates a rapid reward function for your brain, and over time the brain learns that it doesn’t need to put information in long-term memory to get a dopamine reward.
through regular social media use (and scrolling), you are telling your brain that long-term memory is less important because the things it wants are only a thumb flick away.
regular, repeated use of social media compounds the problem. if you use social media for an hour a day, you are literally training your brain to prefer short term over long term memory. do this every day for years, and your long-term memory recall is sure to degrade.
