Digital tools are changing how we remember and forget information

When our memory starts to feel strained, we instinctively turn to the world around us — writing, sorting or rearranging things to help us think better. This is known as cognitive offloading.

While humans are good at this and have been doing it for a long time, a new review in Nature has reported that offloading strategies have become even simpler thanks to the technologies available at our fingertips these days. These strategies can be a range of activities like setting reminders for events, using Google Maps for directions, or asking ChatGPT to write emails.

This in turn, has raised questions and concerns about whether the risks of offloading ‘in excess’ could be becoming more pronounced.

Changes in cognitive offloading

“I think it’s possible that people expect technology-based offl