Digital Memory and the Demise of Forgetting

This thesis presents the hypothesis that the external memory created by social networking sites and other forms of digital recording in cyberspace may have negative consequences for personal and professional advancement.

Hypothesis

What is Human Memory?

mem•o•ry (mm-r)n. pl. mem•o•ries the faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information

Three Main Branches of Human Memory

Memory is a two-step process

• The first step of memory is committing information to long term memory

• The second step of memory Is retrieving that information

What is External Memory?

Information stored outside of the human mind

Forms of external memory

How digitization has revolutionized external memory

“By eliminating noise, the incremental forgetting inherent in analog technology, the notion of originals and copies is rapidly becoming an outdated concept. All digital copies are indistinguishable from the original. This has the advantage of giving everyone who possesses a ‘copy’ perfect access to all of the information and value of the original” -from Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age, p. 60

Forgetting

“Today, with the help of widespread technology, forgetting has become the exception, and

remembering the default” -from Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age, p. 2

Four factors that have contributed to forgetting becoming the exception:

Digitization Cheap storage Easy retrieval Global Reach

Why We Forget

As INDIVIDUALS we forget so that we can survive

The famous example of “Funes, the Memorious” by Jorge Luis Borges

As a SOCIETY we forget so that individuals can redeem themselves

Ted Williams, the homeless man with a “golden voice”

“My memory, sir, is like a garbage heap.” Funes the Memorious

With the demise of forgetting

• Time• Power

For example…

The counter argument• “But you can easily avoid replaying

[upsetting] memories”

• “You can put a lock on those events you’d like to forget and never open them up again”

But for some of us, avoiding replaying painful memories is not easy…

The greatest challenge…

The ability to cope

Potential Solutions

• Coping Kit

• Virtual Safe