The Internet Is Changing the Way We Remember

If you're like everyone else, I have approximately 15 seconds to capture your attention. Are you ready? The Internet is changing how we think.

Still reading? Good.

Choosing What to Remember

It's safe to say most of us use the Internet as an extension of our brains. We neglect to remember certain information — people's phone numbers, addresses, names, even certain events — because we know where to find it online.

Albert Einstein famously said: "Never memorize what you can look up in books." Substitute "Wikipedia" for "books" and you'll realize just how empty our collective memories are becoming.

While this is far more convenient than the alternative of scribbling things down on paper, researchers are starting to realize that the more information we store online, the more we tend to forget.

Incorporating Google into Memory

A recent study looked at the effect Google has on cognitive memory. Turns out, we're becoming less likely to remember specific facts, but more likely to remember where to find them.

Any kid growing up before the Internet can remember being forced to memorize their home phone number, address, and parents' work numbers. And the alphabet (still necessary!), multiplication table, historical dates and names, and certain scientific formulas.

Today, 90 percent of us suffer from digital amnesia. And more than 70 percent say they don't know their children's phone numbers by heart. (Can you remember the event that started World War I? Or did you have to look it up?)

Sure, you can say there's no need to memorize things when it's all stored online, but what happens if your phone is stolen? Think how much you depend on the data it stores — and how vulnerable you and your contacts become when some bad actor has access to all that information.

Googling on the Go

As we continue to connect via smartphones, tablets, iPads, etc., our privacy becomes exponentially more at risk. The United States alone reports more than 1 million smartphone thefts a year, not to mention the terrifying rise of cyber breaches both private and public.

We have chosen to accept risk in return for convenience in many cases. For the first time in history, records show more Google searches on mobile devices than on desktop systems. Guess which has better security protection? With more people Googling than ever before, this means that as a whole we spend more time connected to the Internet throughout the day. You do know that Google and online advertisers track your online travels, right? They develop profiles about you to better serve you information and to better sell you their products.

The fact that we can access the Internet at any given moment is amazing (and very convenient), but it comes with the ever-growing need to become and stay more aware about our digital security and how to protect ourselves online. And on the phone.

More Time Spent Online

The average person now spends around six hours a day online. That's an hour more than two years ago. Even more surprising, nearly 30 percent of that time is spent on social networks.

The amount of personal information we're dumping into the online world these days is incredible, and the fact that we're unconsciously choosing to store this information online rather than in our minds is cause for concern.

What happens when a child loses their phone and can't recall their address or their parent's phone numbers? You don't necessarily want your child depending on the kindness of strangers.

Securing Your Devices

Because our mobile devices have become an extension of who are we, including how we access digital information online, it's important that we protect them. Alarmingly, 28 percent of Americans admit to leaving their mobile devices unsecured, and only a third say they install any type of security on their smartphones. Even a simple password is better than this laissez faire attitude!

Our collective "digital amnesia" makes it harder for us to recall specific information, so when we leave our smartphones unsecured, we run the risk of not only exposing our personal information but also all the day-to-day details we're starting to forget. Some of that information might be confidential or open us to unanticipated risk. What if your calendar includes a hush-hush meeting of your executive team with a potential buyer? And you have stored the date, time, place, and names of attendees on your device? None of those people want that information exposed to an outsider, especially you.

With such convenient access to the Internet today, remembering mundane information may have become a thing of the past. Just make sure you can find that information securely, by securing your Internet-enabled devices and keeping that protection current. Otherwise, you might regret your reliance on a device that leaves you vulnerable to nasty surprises.

Arthur Baxter is a network operations analyst at ExpressVPN. He has 17 years of experience working in Internet security and is passionate about technology, software, and privacy. Follow ExpressVPN on Facebook and Twitter.