GROWING numbers of people in their twenties and
thirties are suffering from severe memory loss
because of increasing reliance on computer
technology, according to new research.
Sufferers complain they are unable to recall names,
written words or appointments, and in some cases
have had to give up their jobs.
Doctors are blaming computer technology, electronic
organisers and automatic car navigation systems.
They claim these gadgets lead to diminished use of
the brain to work out problems and inflict "information
overload" that makes it difficult to distinguish
between important and unimportant facts.
A preliminary study of 150 people aged 20 to 35 has
shown that more than one in 10 are suffering from
severe problems with their memory. Researchers
from Hokkaido University's school of medicine in
Japan said the memory dysfunction among the young
required further investigation.
"They're losing the ability to remember new things, to
pull out old data or to distinguish between important
and unimportant information. It's a type of brain
dysfunction," said Toshiyuki Sawaguchi, the
university's professor of neurobiology. "Young people
today are becoming stupid."
One high-flying 28-year-old salesman treated by Dr
Sawaguchi was forced to give up his job when he
found himself forgetting where he was going, who he
was supposed to be seeing or, when he finally got
there, what he was selling.
Although no formal studies have been undertaken in
Britain, experts are increasingly recognising the
problem. Professor Pam Briggs of Northumbria
University, who recently chaired a British
Psychological Society symposium on the effects of
technology, said: "I think increased use of the internet
and computer technology is starting to have an effect.
Everyday memory might be at threat if you are using
the computer as a kind of external memory."
Dr Takashi Tsukiyama, who runs a private clinic in
Tokyo, said he had seen an increase in severe
memory problems. "In the past two years, more
people in their twenties and thirties have presented
themselves with memory impairment," he said.
One sales assistant aged 28 said she suddenly
found herself unable to recall written words and was
dismissed from her job. "Ageing affects the brain's
hardware, but errors may occur in the brain's
'software' that have nothing to do with age but are
related to someone's lifestyle, such as not using your
brain enough," said Tsukiyama.
Dr David Cantor, director of the Psychological
Services Institute in Atlanta, Georgia, who has
treated patients for memory and attention problems
for more than 20 years, said: "Many experts believe
information overload is making it difficult for some
people to absorb new information, as they have
reached a limit of what they can store in their brains.
These people forget things because they were too
distracted to absorb them in the first place."
