Is your summer holiday already a distant memory? Are the tons of unsorted photos on your smart phone the sole souvenir of your family break? Experts suggest many of us now suffer from “digital amnesia”, in other words, we rely on technology to capture the moment, which then actually reduces the chances of us properly remembering our holidays. We can take some simple steps to overcome the memory gap. One of those is to maintain a digital scrapbook to enrich our recollections of happy times.
Digital amnesia is an increasingly common occurrence in the smartphone age. According to recent research led by Professor Charles Spence of Oxford University, over half us are losing the ability to reminisce about our happy holiday memories because of an over-reliance on digital devices.
A dependence on 2D digital photos
A dependence on digital photographs to capture everything we see, experience and enjoy on a trip creates a very limited record of the event in our memory banks. The research suggests that it’s only by absorbing all of the sensory stimuli we experience on a vacation, that we store fully-formed recollections to build a story of our enjoyable moments.
One of the participants in the study, Philippa Stanton, argues: “It’s only by really engaging with our experiences on holiday through all of our senses that we can process all the stimulating information to lay down the sorts of easily retrievable memories that will last.”
Layer your memories
Laying down multiple layers of memory may be the best way to recall our treasured holidays. An online journal can be a great way to do just that. The Storychest app allows you to build a story around your photos to add memories, souvenirs, characters and drawings to your treasured reminiscence.
Jotting down a record of the details like the smells, the sounds, the tastes and the people we encounter will really add a vividness to the memories we can delve into once back home. Indeed, Professor Spence also suggests a drawing can really add value to a memory: “Sketching makes us think more carefully about what we are seeing and how we are going to portray it”. The Storychest app allows you to scan a sketch and add it to the rich tapestry you can build of your favourite events.
The speed with which our vivid recall of a holiday can fade is one of the main factors behind post-vacation blues. Sharing the memories of our trip and telling friends how wonderful it was, is an effective way of evoking a sense of nostalgia while dipping into the positive emotions we felt when away.
Collecting a rich record of our experience on Storychest is the perfect way to do this. The app allows you to collect all of the photos, cards, drawings and tickets from your holiday and share them with friends and family.
