Science tells us our memories are changing. Changing because of our access to information, computer use, emotional maturity and the world around us. Understanding of what a memory even is has grown. Changing for the better in many ways. In other ways we understand more now that, well, really, what we remember isn’t even true based on a multitude of factors like perception, recall, and our of so human tendency to focus on the dreadful. Modern cognitive theory of a sensory memory, a short-term memory and a long-term memory has always been studied by humans, but really took off in the 60’s and 70’s as medical equipment was able to measure and compile more information to study. When combined with the long history of memory study…we gained a better understanding of how our memory works. Basically, it’s lying to us. Yet we are in control of those half or missed truths about what really happened during a moment that we lived.
Why do I bring this up in the middle of a senior session blog? Because by all reasonable standards this year has sucked. We know it, everyone is saying it’s the worst, all the news confirms that everything is terrible and it is just going to get worse and worse with an excited gleam in their eyes. Those who should be our most trusted elder members of society complain, and yell, and have told us they have looked back and compared to all memory this is the worst year ever in the history of forever. They are not wrong that it’s been terrible. Heartbreakingly we have lost so many souls we can't get back. Another reason photographs of those we love are so very important! The election turmoil has hurt us all. We cannot deny the hurt our society inflicts on so many of its members from people of color, to women, to those differently-abled. We have to do better. We all have pandemic fatigue we cannot let win.
We need to be safe and careful- we need to look to faith and science and stop ignoring the dangers of climate, the treatment of others less privileged, and political concerns. We also need to breathe, stop hoarding toilet paper, and live a little too. Neither can we forget the improvements this new era has brought us, it’s better by far than medieval times, so we know we are capable of great things. No pressure,eh?
We can’t always 100% trust our memory-which isn’t such a bad thing after all! We have a generation of kids here- Gen Z- that is the most well-informed, compassionate, strong, and thoughtful generation. Just because maybe not everyone appreciates that or understands their TikToks and IG posts and writes them off as just kids (exactly as THEIR parents and grandparents did before them- nudge-nudge) doesn’t mean it isn’t true. These kids are poised to be the next greatest generation. Support them. Celebrate them, help them. and get their moments of joy in a tough world truly memorized in a photo whenever you can. They are also the most documented and photographed generation so they can handle it hahahahah.
Find moments of joy and photograph the shit out of them, then hold onto THOSE good memories instead!
The brain in general, and memory, in particular, has a distinct negativity bias. It pays more attention to, and highlights, unpleasant experiences.
The brain typically detects negative information faster than positive information, and the hippocampus specifically flags negative events to make doubly sure that such events are stored in memory.
Negative experiences leave an indelible trace in the memory, even when efforts are made to “unlearn” them.
This is probably an evolutionary adaptation, given that it is better to err on the side of caution and ignore a few pleasant experiences than to overlook a negative, and possibly dangerous, event. - THE STUDY OF HUMAN MEMORY https://human-memory.net/