The cost of saving: How photos and screenshots impair memory.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Level 2 by design analogy (controlled behavioral laboratory experiments).
PubMed 40195208 · doi:10.3758/s13421-025-01711-2
What was done
Across three behavioral experiments, participants viewed artwork displayed on a computer screen or on their own smartphones. Participants either observed the images or saved them by taking photographs (using their own familiar smartphone or an unfamiliar, experimenter-provided camera) or capturing screenshots. Subsequent memory performance was tested across conditions to evaluate whether the photo impairment effect is driven by divided attention from task complexity.
What was found
The abstract reports no numeric values, test statistics, or effect sizes. Directionally, memory was consistently worse for images saved by any method compared to those not saved. The magnitude of the impairment did not scale with task complexity and did not differ between familiar and unfamiliar devices. Screenshotting, the least complex saving method, produced particularly detrimental effects on memory.
Why it matters
This study shows that divided attention alone does not explain why taking photos harms memory, demonstrating that even low-effort digital saving methods like screenshotting induce substantial memory impairment.
Limits
The abstract does not report sample sizes, participant characteristics, retention intervals, or quantitative statistical results. Testing memory for static art images on screens may not generalize to dynamic, real-world photo-taking scenarios.
Cited by
- supports Photographing an object or event can impair subsequent memory for the photographed details due to cognitive offloading.