technology a group matched on age and education . We wanted to know how people were using smartphones and how it related to their performance on various memory tests .
Appy memories
A new study has looked at the potential of mobile phones to aid memory in people with a brain injury .
Dana Wong interviewed by Dallas Bastian
Are smartphones making our brains lazy ? It ’ s a common concern about the devices and their handy memory tools , but Australian researchers say these applications are more helpful than harmful .
Writing in The Conversation , Dr Dana Wong , researcher and senior lecturer in clinical neuropsychology at Monash University , said smartphone apps allow people to outsource remembering appointments or upcoming tasks .
“ It ’ s a common worry that using technology in this way makes our brain ’ s memory capacity worse , but the reality is not that simple ,” Wong said .
“ In fact , these platforms can be useful , not only for people with memory impairments , but also the general population .”
Wong and her fellow researchers explored the potential of smartphones as memory aids – such as calendars , alarms , contact lists and reminder text messages – by surveying people who have experienced traumatic brain injury or stroke .
They discovered that memory apps can be helpful for people with brain injuries and that using these tools did not affect the memory of people without brain injuries .
Wong said such apps can free people ’ s minds to focus on other things , without using up mental resources worrying about what needs to be remembered .
Aged Care Insite spoke with Wong to find out more about her debunking of the myth that memory aids make brains lazy .
ACI : How did you assess whether apps like calendars have a negative impact on memory ? DW : We did a range of things across two studies where we asked people with traumatic brain injury in one study , and stroke in the other , about their smartphone use . We compared them with
You said some brain injury and stroke survivors fear that using memory aids may make their memory worse . What would you tell these people ? The results of our research , and other research as well , don ’ t support that notion . We found that the use of apps as memory aids was helpful for people with traumatic brain injury and stroke , and that it wasn ’ t associated with poorer performance on memory tests .
In fact , we found that people with stroke , for example , who used more memory aids on their phones were actually more productive . We measured that by looking at their participation in work activities , in volunteer activities and in study activities . And we found that people who used memory apps on their phone more often , were more productive in their day to day life .
Why are smartphone memory aids so helpful compared to other options such as notepads ? One is that they ’ re very portable . When you need to be reminded of something , you can just get it out of your pocket or bag and check what you need , rather than , say , something like a bulky diary or wall calendar , or a notepad , which might be too big to take around with you everywhere .
Another advantage is that there are multiple apps in the one device . If you ’ re not using a smartphone , you might need to use a diary for one thing and an alarm for another thing , or other kinds of reminders for different purposes . But in your smartphone , you ’ ve got a whole range of different apps that you can use to help remember things , including your camera , which you can use to take photos of things you would like to remember . You ’ ve also got your GPS to help guide you to places that you need to remember . And of course , calendars and alarms .
And finally , one thing that has been shown to be particularly useful for people with memory difficulties is time-dependent reminders . That is , being able to set an alert that tells you at the time that you need to remember something , and that differs from , say , a diary , where you have to remember to check it .
What barriers might there be to people with brain injury using these apps , and how can they be overcome ? We found that people who are older tend to use smartphones less often . So I guess the implication of this finding is that that older adults who might benefit from apps on smartphones might need extra support in learning to use them , and that ’ s something we ’ re looking at in a research study we ’ re planning .
Another thing is that people with stroke who have fine motor difficulties tend to use memory apps less often too . So there might be other options that would suit them better – an iPad or tablet , or you might need to modify the way a smartphone looks , so make the text larger or focus on apps that are voice controlled . For example , voice memos are good for people who don ’ t like to type .
And finally , some people , particularly those with more significant memory impairment , might find it difficult to learn new apps , which can be quite complicated . I think in that situation you need to be careful about how you teach somebody to use a new app . That ’ s also something we ’ re looking at in our research . ■
34 agedcareinsite . com . au