The Google effect: losing your ability to remember things

Here’s a little test for you – can you remember the phone number of your closest relative, partner or friend? For me, I can barely remember my own phone number and address.

Here is an interesting article from Science. Sorry about the lack of open access. For those of us who aren’t psychologists or cognitive scientists, this might seem ‘obvious’, however it’s nice to see it quantified.

“Google Effects on Memory: Cognitive Consequences of Having Information at Our Fingertips”

I wonder what the effect of search engines and ubiquitous Internet access will have on the youngest generation, who have never been forced to actually store information they need in their brain.

Will they be learning and doing exams the same way as we did when we were in high school or university? My guess is that the future’s “smartest” kids will be the ones with an in-built radar for knowing where to go online to find information and knowing what to information to trust.