Short Term, Long Term, and Memory Keeping

This week we learned about learning and memory. I particularly enjoyed the discussion of memory that included long term and short term memory. The difference between short term and long term memory are relatively easy to understand. Short term memory (STM) is basically a small capacity that we have to hold the information that we are currently processing. Long term memory is (LTM) is how we retain information for a long period of time. Things will more from short term to long term through elaborative rehearsal.

With all of these memories going into short term memory and then long term memory, how can we be sure that we remember them? I think that often times as consumers we buy into things that will help use remember our most amazing memories. For the most part, people will assume that his means cameras. It's not only photographs that help us remember though. There's wristbands from that concert, or t-shirts from our childhood's that don't fit anymore, or the pamphlet from the amusement park you went to.

There is a whole section of craft stores dedicated to memory keeping and I personally bought into it. Recently, I saw an article (cannot find it now, but if I do I'll link it) that said that this generation (my generation) will have taken the most photos compared to any other generation, but we're printing out a minuscule amount of those photos compared to what our elders did. This generational difference shocked me. As a consumer who does scrapbook, why don't the younger generation participate in this "grandma" labeled hobby? Personally I think that scrapbooking helps with memory keeping immensely. Scrapbooking can be as easy as slipping printed photos into albums or as hard as writing down a fun story for every photo (before you forget).

I believe that scrapbooking also has the power of nostalgia. Nostalgia is the bittersweet emotions you feel when thinking of or looking at an old memory. Physically printed photos are not a thing of the past quite yet, but maybe they will be. This trend in consumer behavior consisting of not printing photos may just change our memories too. There is a special vividness that I feel when my memories seem to come flooding back when I look through my scrapbooks and I truly wish everyone could experience this feeling.