This has had wide-ranging effects on various aspects of human life. The media influences how we form relationships with strangers and how we experience life as a whole. It is the influence of the media on human memory, that is, in the way we remember the events of our lives.
Instead of perceiving the world in real time, we are actually witnessing the memory of this perception, and this means that our unconscious minds filter and process real-time data and often make decisions in fractions of a second.
Researchers confirm that when we become aware of these perceptions and decisions, that is, once they rise to the level of awareness, we actually experience the memories of those decisions. In other words, it is the unconscious mind that takes the lead.
How does consciousness work?
Consciousness works as part of our memory to help connect events together into a coherent, sequential narrative. “Our theory is that consciousness evolved as a memory system that our unconscious brain uses to help us imagine the future flexibly and creatively and plan accordingly,” said author Dr. Andrew Hudson.
"We don't perceive the world and we don't make decisions directly; we do all these things unconsciously, and then, about half a second later, we remember or create the reasons why we did it."
What exactly is consciousness?
It's a bit puzzling that we don't have a definite definition yet. In general, consciousness is a subjective experience of the world, including our own being. This broad outline of the concept of consciousness was originally conceived in the 1890s, and it leaves plenty of room for multiple theories.
Consciousness and Neural Workspace
There are two basic ideas in neuroscience about the concept of consciousness, one of which is the Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT), which posits that the brain integrates information from multiple sources into a single data "graphic" on a "workspace", and this workspace, which has knowledge of the elements present in our attention only, is conscious experience.
Consciousness and Integrated Information Theory
In contrast, the other dominant theory, integrated information theory (IIT), takes a more connected view. It hypothesizes that consciousness arises from neurons and the interconnections of brain networks and that the physical properties and data-processing properties of neural networks—particularly the posterior regions of the brain—can alone generate consciousness.
Other theories delve into the complex web of neural networks, suggesting that loops of information between brain regions spanning time and space generate consciousness, and some suggest that awareness of "self" is critical to awareness of the outside world.
Is consciousness just a flash of memory?
Inspired by previous ideas and experimental data, the researchers came to the surprising conclusion that consciousness evolved as part of memory, and in fact, consciousness is a process of remembering. "Even our thoughts are generally not under our conscious control, and this lack of control is why we may have difficulty stopping the flow of thoughts going through our heads as we try to sleep," says Dr. Hudson.
Consciousness and memory in patients with neurological disorders
By reframing consciousness as part of memory, the researchers hope the theory can help patients with neurological disorders. People who have had a stroke that affects the cortex or surrounding neural highways often have an impaired ability to use memories to solve problems or plan for the future. People with dementia, migraines, or epilepsy similarly suffer from disorders that cause disturbances in consciousness and memory. The two are linked together.
The researchers are well aware that they are building controversial foundations. "Many, perhaps most, of the hypotheses we propose may turn out to be incorrect," they say. "However, empirically testing the theory can bring us closer to understanding the fundamental nature and anatomical basis of consciousness."
What could we be without memory?
The content of our memories is central to our human existence. Without our memories, we function without constraints or considerations of our personal and cultural history and are left without personality. More importantly, our memory is the backbone of our personalities and a general framework for how we deal with new experiences and make decisions about the future.
Without a memory, most of us would not survive. Because we rely on past learning to make critical decisions in the present and future, unfortunately, modern-day memory is being challenged by new media flows that have important implications for what we can remember.
What is the influence of the media on the content of memories?
Informational material modifies not only what we remember but also how it is remembered. For example, a news report, tweet, or Facebook post that contains false information can affect what the reader remembers about the event. This idea is supported by studies that show that providing misleading information or misrepresenting an event can lead to inaccurate recall.
By the same token, the use of strong or provocative language can affect the details that are remembered about an event, such as whether a specific thing or person was present at the event, so when headlines using strong language are widely broadcast, it increases the risk of memory distortion if information is exaggerated.
Is memory affected by newspapers more than social media?
It turns out that the form in which provocative language is presented also affects the credibility of information. One study found that stories published in newspapers are more likely to be believed than those broadcast on television. Newspapers make it more credible than newer methods like Twitter or Facebook.
What is the illusory reality effect?
Social media also poses a threat to memory, specifically the formation of memories. One way to understand the impact of social media is what is known as the “false truth effect.” People tend to categorize familiar statements as more true than new ones, and this is what we see, especially with the fake news phenomenon. The illusory truth effect is that when information is presented over and over again on social media platforms and media, it is more likely to be believed gradually.
What is the effect of mass media on human memory capacity?
Not only does the media affect our ability to remember events clearly, but it also affects our memory capacity by removing the burden of storing information in our brains. Websites, for example, act as an external hard disk for the brain, and with the advent of Wikipedia, storing memories of many events is no longer necessary, and we only need to remember where and how to find information about an event rather than the event itself.
What is the effect of Google on human memory?
Researchers call the reduced reliance on memory storage in the brain The Google effect. Studies show that people who expect to access information later forget it more easily than those who don't. Moreover, people have a better memory of where information is located than of the content of the information.
Is there a difference between the memory of the modern generation and the memory of previous generations?
This reliance on external sources of storage highlights the role social media plays in how we remember things. A recent study showed that engaging in social media during an event reduced memory of experiences. This effect was observed when subjects were asked to take photos or notes about the experiment, but was not observed when participants were asked to think about the experiment.
So it is likely that our generation and subsequent generations will not remember historical events as vividly or accurately as previous generations. Given our frequent documentation of major events and, more importantly, our reliance on external sources such as Facebook and Instagram to remember important events, this places a great responsibility on us to become accurate records of historical events.
In conclusion
Unfortunately, we are influenced by how news is presented and where news is obtained from. This susceptibility to manipulation of news through language and repetition, along with reliance on others to know and document history, increases the risk of accepting false narratives and inaccurate historical accounts. Therefore, it was necessary to share the findings related to the impact of media on memory, because our memories are what personally and culturally ground us, and thus ultimately determine our history.
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