Snapping and sharing photographs has never been easier. But being inundated with images can have a host of unintended consequences, from heightened anxiety to impaired memory.
Could the not-too-distant future hold “brain chip” technologies that we could all use to enhance our memories to the point of perfection? Not so fast: there are big benefits to forgetting.
Magda Szubanski’s engaging debut memoir, Reckoning, is an exercise in precisely that: reconciling the past. It is also a celebration of the life and career of one of our greatest comedians.
The modern world’s effect on our ability to remember has got an ugly name. But digital amnesia is not a one-way street. Technology may be helping us to remember more than it has caused us to forget.
An individual may remember and forget what he or she likes, but once a version of past events is accepted and shared by a group, as a collective construction, it is on public record.
People with dementia judge the passage of time differently, and can access remote memories from many decades ago while being unable to remember events of the past few hours.
The average age of survivors is now 80. In five years, very few of these first-hand witnesses will be around to remember the event. Many of their stories are in danger of being lost forever.