The next time you’re doing something fun – take fewer pictures.

If you’d like to get more memories out of that next vacation or special occasion, take fewer pictures. 

A study from Fairfield University found that picture taking may be preventing us from effectively remembering what we see. Participants experimented in a museum. Those who took pictures of each object in its entirety remembered less about the whole experience. 

When we take out our camera, we send a signal to the brain that we won’t need to remember this. And when we’re focused on the visual, we’re missing out on some powerful memory makers which include scent, sound and peripheral imagery.