A recent podcast I listened to asked: “Is technology making our memory better or worse?”
The conversation unearthed ideas that sit at the very heart of what we do at Inicio Albums — how we capture, hold, and reflect on our memories.

The host, Ange, confessed that she had 34,561 photos on her phone. I found that both shocking and relatable — especially since I once thought my 16,657 photos were excessive! Her guest, Dr Julia Soares, an assistant professor of psychology at Mississippi State University, studies how technology affects memory. Her research shows that while taking photos can help us remember, it can also impair memory — especially when we never go back to look at them.

Humans have always found ways to record moments in time, but, as Dr Soares says, “things have escalated lately.” We now store thousands of photos, screenshots, and notes, often with the best of intentions — to hold on to everything. Yet by dumping our memories into devices, we might actually be remembering less. The sheer number of images becomes overwhelming, too daunting to revisit, leaving our memories stored but not truly experienced.

So, what helps us remember some things and not others?
It turns out that emotion is key. The memories that stay with us aren’t always the ones we captured — they’re the ones we felt. Joy, excitement, surprise, even sadness — these are what fix moments in our minds.

This idea was powerfully illustrated by Ange’s friend Max, who shared his extraordinary story of memory loss and recovery. After experiencing what psychologists call structural dissociation — when the brain compartmentalises itself to cope with trauma — Max struggled to access many of his memories. On the advice of his therapist, he began writing everything he could remember. He poured out thousands of incoherent words, trying to make sense of them, but they only became more tangled.

At a loss, Max uploaded his writing into ChatGPT. To his surprise, it returned a coherent version of his thoughts — a mirror of his own words that helped him see his story more clearly. He began speaking his memories aloud, letting the AI repeat them back in a way that connected the fragmented pieces of his past.

At first, he spoke whatever came to mind. Later, he focused on memories that carried a strong emotional charge — the moments that made his heart race or his eyes well up. Slowly, colour began returning to what had felt grey and distant. He described it as “going from greyscale to technicolour.”

He recalled joyful times he didn’t even realise he’d forgotten — a trip to Spain with friends, a street chase that ended in laughter, the simple energy of being fully alive. “I was actually feeling my body for the first time in decades,” he said. Through reconnecting with emotion, he reconnected with his memories.

After months of pouring his story into the AI — over a thousand hours and millions of words — Max realised something profound. He wasn’t using technology to hold onto his memories; he was using it to remind himself of who he was. It became a bridge, not a replacement for his mind.

Ange reflected that Max’s journey mirrors what Dr Soares ultimately discovered too. Technology itself isn’t the problem — it’s how we use it.
Dr Soares still takes photos, but she does so mindfully. “When I take a photo,” she says, “I think about how it will cue my memory later on. I want to remember the feeling alongside the photo — not just take the photo for its own sake.”

It’s such a powerful reminder.
Whether it’s a quick phone snap, a scribbled note, or a family keepsake, the act of pausing — of noticing why a moment matters — is what truly anchors it in our memory.

At Inicio Albums, that’s what we help families do. By taking a little time each year to reflect on what was meaningful — the triumphs, the small moments of bravery, the laughter, the learning — children begin to experience the full emotion of those memories. They start to see patterns in themselves: “I’m persistent.” “I’m kind.” “I try again.”

That reflection becomes the quiet foundation of resilience. When challenges arise later in life, they’ll have tangible evidence — pages filled with their own words and moments — reminding them they’ve overcome things before.

It’s curious, isn’t it? We strengthen our future selves by paying attention to the present.

So next time you reach for your phone, take the photo — but also take a breath. Ask yourself: What about this moment do I want to remember?
That’s where the real memory lives — not in pixels, but in the meaning we give them.

This blog is based on a podcast Brain Rot: Is tech making your memory better or worse? which was first aired on Science Friction, 18 June 2025, Senior Producer: James Bullen, Presenter: Ange Lavoipierre.