Is The Nation’s Autobiographical Memory Fading?

Can you vividly remember three life events from 2016? Or do the precise moments that define your life feel hazy? Now, new national data from PastBook – a leading photo book creation company – explores our autobiographical memory and the importance of documentation and images, uncovering a nation who without photos, struggle to vividly recollect and recall the expressions, backgrounds, colours and moments that define their most crucial memories.

Research by Boston College shows that as time passes, the vibrancy of our memories dim and fade, and our recollection of life events becomes less accurate. PastBook’s first-of-its-kind study, conducted from over 2080 respondents, unveils a nation unable to recover life events, and demonstrates the power physical photographs have in preserving monumental and minute memories.

Now, 60% of parents do not remember the visuals of their childrens’ most significant milestones, 42% of Brits cannot vividly remember three life events from 2016, and over half (55%) of the nation now must rely on photos to recall life events.

Key statistics reveal:

· 60% of parents in the UK do NOT remember the visuals of their childrens’ most momentous milestones

· 42% of Brits cannot vividly remember 3 life events from 2016

· 43% of Brits memories feel hazy around their early family years

· Over half (55%) of the nation use photos to recall how their life has progressed

· 20% of the nation cannot recall their favourite memory from 1 year ago

· 27% of Brits cannot vividly recall their most memorable life event from 10 years ago

· 20% of Brits can no longer recall their most memorable moment from the last 5 years

· 46% of Brits agree that the older they get, the worse their memory gets – often they cannot remember what happened last week

Wouter Staatsen, CEO of PastBook discusses:

“Over time, our brain’s hippocampus changes the way we recall even our most important life memories, this means our memories aren’t just written once, they warp and change every single time we recall them. So, from engagements and gender reveals, to our children’s first steps, the expressions, backgrounds and colours of these moments either change each time we remember them or often end up completely forgotten.

As our memories are dynamic, documenting and preserving them has never been more crucial – it has also never been more accessible through smartphones and social media. PastBook creates a physical capsule of your smartphone photos or social media uploads that can be looked back on in years to come, allowing us a way to freeze moments in time and always remember even the slightest detail of our favourite moments.”