Autobiographical memory in the digital age: Insights based on the subjective reports of users of smart journaling apps

Abstract

Humans have long used external memory aids to support remembering. However, modern digital technologies could facilitate recording and remembering personal information in an unprecedented manner. The present research sought to understand the potential impact of these technologies on autobiographical memory based on interviews with users of smart journaling apps. In Study 1 (N = 12), participants who had no prior experience with smart journaling apps tested the app Day One for 2 weeks and were interviewed about their subjective perceptions afterwards. In order to cross-validate the obtained findings, Study 2 (N = 4) was based on in-depth interviews with long-time users of different smart journaling apps. Taken together, the two studies provide insights into the way autobiographical remembering may change in the digital agebut also into the opportunities and risks potentially associated with the use of technologies that allow creating a detailed and multimedia-based record of one's life.

Identity, narrative, and cultural–historical context in evaluating personal and public events.

“…This has been demonstrated, for example, by reconstructing historical change in memory practices in the Neolithic (Sutton, 2020), by reconstructing the evolution of cultural memories of an Indian uprising against the British in India in 1857 (Erll, 2009), or by reconstructing the historical change of eating disorders and its historical context of shifting norms and practices of self-discipline (Habermas, 1990). Psychologists might even repeatedly measure effects of fast-changing historical circumstances such as the decreasing biographical significance of wedding as a life event (Miller & Rahe, 1997); another example is the effects of the change in personal mnemonic technologies from diaries, photographs, and memorabilia (Habermas & Paha, 2002) to social media (e.g., Hutmacher et al, 2023; Stone & Wang, 2019). Finally, even psychological findings that are not longitudinal like most studies on which the proposed valence dissociation is based can be contextualized with thick historical description (e.g., Mert et al, 2022).…”

Special issue of applied cognitive psychology: Rethinking cognition in a digital environment

“…In their article, Hutmacher et al (2023) report two relatively naturalistic studies in which they examined how people use digital diary apps to make and curate multi-modal records of events in their lives. In addition to the basic functional questions about what sort of information people choose to record and in what manner, they were also interested in the metacognitive question of how people perceive such "smart journaling" to have impacted their own memory, as well as the perceived opportunities and risks posed by such digital tools.…”

Thinking in the digital age: Everyday cognition and the dawn of a new age of metacognition research

“…Answers to questions about goals were coded into “types” such as a “social” goal (e.g., to show someone, share on social media) or a “memento” goal (i.e., “to help with remembering or planning to remember in the future” p. 702). Similarly, Hutmacher et al (2023) interviewed 12 individuals new to a smart journaling application, a super digital episodic memory, and four long‐time users about their usage, their perceptions of how the applications influenced their memory, and their future expectations (i.e., potential opportunities and risks). In both cases, readers are provided a rich descriptive analysis of how individuals use these digital tools, with a particular focus on their memorial functions and their impact on individuals' subjective experiences of their memories.…”