A new study from Binghamton University's Psychology Department suggests that taking screenshots or photos to remember information may actually make it harder to recall later. Researchers found that people who captured images remembered significantly less than those who simply observed — a phenomenon known as the "photo-taking impairment effect."
About the Study
The research, titled "Digital amnesia: The aftermath of a screenshot," was led by Sophia Fabrizio, a Binghamton University doctoral candidate in psychology, alongside co-authors Rebecca Lurie and psychology professor Deanne Westerman. The study was published in the journal Memory & Cognition.
Across three experiments (part of a broader seven-experiment research effort), participants viewed artwork presented either on a computer or their own smartphones, and either photographed or took screenshots of the images. Across the board, memory was consistently worse for images that were saved by either method, compared to images participants simply viewed without capturing.
A Surprising Twist: Screenshots Were Worse Than Photos
Perhaps the most striking finding was that screenshots produced an even stronger memory impairment than photographs — despite requiring noticeably less physical effort to take. This detail turned out to be scientifically important: if the memory impairment were simply caused by divided attention (the idea that the physical act of taking a photo distracts you from actually looking at what you're capturing), you'd expect screenshots — which take almost no effort — to cause less impairment than photos. Instead, the opposite was true, which challenges the "divided attention" explanation as the primary cause.
So Why Does This Happen? Three Competing Explanations
Researchers explored several possible explanations for the effect:
1. Divided attention The idea that capturing an image splits your attention between the experience itself and the act of photographing it. The study's findings — particularly the screenshot results — suggest this isn't the main driver of the effect, since screenshots require minimal effort yet still impaired memory more than photos.
2. Cognitive offloading This refers to using a physical action — like taking a photo or writing something down — to reduce the mental effort a task would otherwise require. Under this account, once people know a device has "captured" the information for them, they unconsciously allocate less mental effort to actually remembering it themselves, redirecting that mental energy elsewhere.
3. Attentional disengagement A third possibility is that the very act of taking a photo or screenshot causes people to unconsciously psychologically distance themselves from the experience — shifting into the role of someone documenting the moment, rather than someone genuinely engaged in it. Supporting evidence for this idea includes findings that people had poorer "source" memory — meaning they were less able to correctly recall whether they had screenshotted or simply viewed a particular piece of art, and in earlier related museum research, worse memory for where photographed art was actually located within an exhibit.
An Important Detail: It Wasn't Just About Trusting the Device
One particularly notable finding undercuts a simple "I don't need to remember it because it's saved" explanation: memory remained impaired even when participants knew the photos they took would be immediately deleted. This suggests the effect isn't purely about consciously relying on a saved copy — something more automatic and less deliberate appears to be happening.
This Doesn't Mean All Photos Are Bad for Memory
It's worth emphasizing an important nuance: this impairment effect specifically applies to images that aren't reviewed afterward. According to Fabrizio, other research has shown that actively going back and reviewing photos can actually help retrieve and reinforce memories over the long term. The problem isn't photography itself — it's the common habit of snapping something and never looking at it again. Given that the average smartphone user now keeps around 2,000 photos on their device and adds roughly 20 new photos per day, the sheer volume involved makes it easy for most captured images to simply go unreviewed.
Why Pen and Paper Comes Out Ahead
Researchers point to an alternative strategy for retaining important information: writing it down. This works, according to the research, because of a concept known as "desirable difficulty" — the idea that the extra mental effort involved in writing something out (rather than passively capturing it) forces the brain to actually process, organize, and draw connections within the information, which in turn helps encode it more durably into memory. Taking notes during a lecture, for example, requires actively summarizing and structuring information into your own words — a mental workout that a screenshot simply skips entirely.
Why This Study Matters
1. A counterintuitive but well-supported finding Given how instinctive it now feels to screenshot or photograph something "just in case," this research offers a genuinely counterintuitive but rigorously tested finding: the habit many people rely on for memory support may be quietly working against them.
2. Relevant to an extremely common daily behavior With the average person holding thousands of photos on their phone and adding dozens more each day, this research speaks directly to an almost universal modern habit, giving it broad everyday relevance.
3. A practical, low-cost takeaway The study's clearest actionable advice — write things down instead of just capturing them — is a simple, low-cost behavioral change that doesn't require giving up smartphones or technology altogether, just being more intentional about when and how information is captured.
4. Nuance matters: capture isn't inherently bad Because the impairment specifically applies to unreviewed captures, the research doesn't suggest people should stop taking photos altogether — rather, it highlights the importance of actually revisiting and engaging with saved images and information afterward, rather than treating the act of capturing something as equivalent to remembering it.
Conclusion
Binghamton University's new research adds meaningful scientific weight to a growing body of evidence around the "photo-taking impairment effect" — the finding that capturing information via photo or screenshot, without later reviewing it, tends to weaken memory rather than strengthen it. While cognitive offloading and attentional disengagement both appear to play a role, the clearest practical takeaway remains simple: for information you genuinely want to remember, picking up a pen may serve you better than reaching for your phone.
Disclaimer: This post is for informational purposes only and is based on publicly available reports. The image referenced in the original social media post is AI generated and is for reference only. This article is intended for general informational purposes and is not a substitute for professional advice.
