Being 43 years old I grew up in a time before cell phones, computers (that were accessible to the general public), and the internet. Thinking back to the days before google maps and Siri, I can remember having to use an atlas if I didn’t know where I was going. Having to remember phone numbers of family and friends and being able to use the Dewey Decimal System to find books in the library.

For many years I’ve noticed an intellectual laziness happening. Not just to myself, but others around me. This intrigued me and when we were assigned to write a research proposal my first thought was why I was seeing this intellectual laziness.

Initially I wanted to explore technology as a whole to see if there is any correlation. However, after doing a little preliminary research on the topic, I decided to narrow the field down to mobile devices. Mobile devices and the technology associated with them make finding information relatively simple and quick. This limits the amount our brain needs to store, process, and regurgitate. Some say this frees up space for other information and some say it lessens the functionality of the brain. These are topics I would like to explore in my research proposal.

I have found some prior research on the topic of digital amnesia, but I still have quite a few resources at my disposal.

Unfortunately, I don’t think Forsyth library will be much help with my research proposal. There aren’t really any research documents that pertain to the area of study I’m looking into. I have fund that there isn’t a wealth of knowledge about this subject yet, but there are some available resources and studies out there.

References:

Coughlan, S. (2015, October 7). Digital Dependence ‘eroding human memory’. BBC News. Retrieved October 25, 2021, from https://www.bbc.com/news/education-34454264.

Ward, A. F. (2021, October 26). People mistake the internet’s knowledge for their own. PNAS. Retrieved October 25, 2021, from https://www.pnas.org/content/118/43/e2105061118.