A Break in the Phonological Loop

It has become apparent quite recently that my memory is simply not what it used to be.

I very easily forget simple facts and details or information that I previously had a good grasp on. This is no more obvious than when I'm in conversation with my friends and want to specifically mention a certain person or event of public life. Of course, we are all susceptible to these kinds of slips. However, they are becoming more prevalent for me and worryingly have moved from forgetting trivial facts to forgetting important details.

I believe that there are many reasons for this lapse in memory. While I will only focus on one such reason here it is not through a perverse lack of memory that I omit the others! A friend basically pinpointed the main reason for my dipping memory recently. With easy access to the internet and the vast stores of information it contains, my memory no longer needs to do much work. It starts with simple things like trying to remember "what film that person was in" and of course, there is no harm in this. In fact, the internet has made us more educated in this regard. But it is at the expense of the faculties we need for more important memory work.

My mind has become lazy and dependent on technology. I now have something resembling an external artificial memory bank that I plug myself into for information retrieval. This cannot continue. I do not wish parts of my life to be a blank or opportunities to be missed due to my over reliance on the internet. So I will do memory exercises and force myself to dredge through the now hazy recesses of my mind when I need to recall an important fact or issue.

With this strategy I hope that my mind will regain it's former strength and I will regain my former humanity.

-The English Student