Computer-mad generation 
has a memory crash

by Cherry Norton and Adam Nathan 

GROWING numbers of people in their twenties and thirties are suffering from severe memory loss because of increasing reliance on computer technology, according to new research. 

Sufferers complain they are unable to recall names, written words or appointments, and in some cases have had to give up their jobs. 

Doctors are blaming computer technology, electronic organisers and automatic car navigation systems. They claim these gadgets lead to diminished use of the brain to work out problems and inflict "information overload" that makes it difficult to distinguish between important and unimportant facts. 

A preliminary study of 150 people aged 20 to 35 has shown that more than one in 10 are suffering from severe problems with their memory. Researchers from Hokkaido University's school of medicine in Japan said the memory dysfunction among the young required further investigation. 

"They're losing the ability to remember new things, to pull out old data or to distinguish between important and unimportant information. It's a type of brain dysfunction," said Toshiyuki Sawaguchi, the university's professor of neurobiology. "Young people today are becoming stupid." 

One high-flying 28-year-old salesman treated by Dr Sawaguchi was forced to give up his job when he found himself forgetting where he was going, who he was supposed to be seeing or, when he finally got there, what he was selling. 

Although no formal studies have been undertaken in Britain, experts are increasingly recognising the problem. Professor Pam Briggs of Northumbria University, who recently chaired a British Psychological Society symposium on the effects of technology, said: "I think increased use of the internet and computer technology is starting to have an effect. Everyday memory might be at threat if you are using the computer as a kind of external memory." 

Dr Takashi Tsukiyama, who runs a private clinic in Tokyo, said he had seen an increase in severe memory problems. "In the past two years, more people in their twenties and thirties have presented themselves with memory impairment," he said. 

One sales assistant aged 28 said she suddenly found herself unable to recall written words and was dismissed from her job. "Ageing affects the brain's hardware, but errors may occur in the brain's 'software' that have nothing to do with age but are related to someone's lifestyle, such as not using your brain enough," said Tsukiyama. 

Dr David Cantor, director of the Psychological Services Institute in Atlanta, Georgia, who has treated patients for memory and attention problems for more than 20 years, said: "Many experts believe information overload is making it difficult for some people to absorb new information, as they have reached a limit of what they can store in their brains. These people forget things because they were too distracted to absorb them in the first place."