MOBILE PHONES 'CAUSING MEMORY LOSS' !!!!!!!!

[Daanyeer]

Source: http://www.webuser.co.uk/news/top-stori ... emory-loss
Tue, 13 Jul 2010 by:Vicky Woollaston


Brits have become more reliant on mobile phones to store phone numbers and information, a report claims.



Millions of Brits are suffering with what's been dubbed 'numerical amnesia' because they're using mobile phones to store numbers rather than memorising them.

A study by life assistance company CPP claims that 23 million Britons don't know their partner's mobile number off by heart and 30 million can't recall their best friend's mobile number.

Yet 92 per cent of those surveyed said they did know their home landline number and 60 per cent knew that of their parents'.

The study put participants through an online memory test designed to assess an individuals' ability to recall sequences of numbers.

It found that four in five Brits can't remember a telephone number after only five seconds. CPP said that this has worrying implications in the event of an emergency.

Michael Lynch from CPP said: "Brits' inability to recall numbers of their nearest and dearest means that many could be in a very tricky and distressing situation if their phone is lost or stolen, if they have no idea how to contact someone for help.

"This shows us that mobiles have literally become people's lifelines," he continued.

Nearly two-thirds of those asked also said they were anxious about losing the numbers stored in their phones but less than half of them have backed up this data.

Four in 10 worry about losing their photos taken on their handset with a third worried about text messages being lost.

Psychologist Dr Glenn Wilson added: "As technology gets more sophisticated, our own memories are on the decline as we increasingly rely on information stored on phones and online."

"While this reliance can be problematic if people are totally dependent on an external memory store that is lost or becomes temporarily unavailable, it can also affect an individual's mental agility later in life. Like many other skills, memory needs exercising if the capacity is not to be lost," he continued.

Claims that mobile phones can be linked to cancer were said to 'need more study' earlier this year as the risks were 'doubtful'.