One of the greatest achievements achieved and improved by humanity in recent decades is technology. In the last twelve years there has been the most popular and successful technology launch, the first iPhone, which is basically a computer in your hands. Databases capable of answering any question, cell phones capable of recognizing faces and even virtual reality. There are many great devices, but at what cost? An extremely concerning topic is the effect of human memory on these new devices. Since this is a “new” device, the effects may vary and are still unknown to a large percentage of the world. Modern technology and “smart” products can affect people's memory in harmful ways, from absurd addiction to very weakened memory. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The average number of Google searches in a single day has increased from 9,800 in 1998 to over 4.7 trillion today. This may not be a surprise since the rise of modern technology has increased dramatically in those years, but it is certainly shocking to have all the knowledge at our fingertips, the “Google effect” is influencing the way we think and arrive to memorize things. With more than 49% of people now carrying their smart device with them on their smartphone, the researchers concluded that the effect is the same. People rely on Google to store long-term knowledge, rather than their own memory and brain. Very few people know that “neuroimaging of frequent Internet users shows double the activity in short-term memory compared to infrequent users during online activities” (McDonald, et al, 793). Our brains have learned to get information quickly and then ignore it immediately afterwards, and this therefore becomes stronger each time we do it. The more people continue to use Google instead of their own memory, the less likely they are to retain what they see. The largest part of our memory that will be affected by technology is short-term memory. This is the part of our brain that works and thinks. When we constantly obtain and use new information to process in our mind, we do not realize that what we had in mind is slowly slipping away and we are saving external information. Our brain uses information stored in long-term memory to store important things and factors throughout our day. If we rely on Google to store everything, we could lose an important part of ourselves. Joshua Foer, author of a well-known book on memory techniques, shows different but simple ways to improve memory without technology. “The brain remembers things better that are repeated, rhythmic, rhyming, structured and above all easily visualized” (Foer,128). Here he explains that if people use simple techniques every day, they can easily improve their memory. He continues to explain the ways that have helped him and other people increase their memory capacity. Another way that people are affected by technology is that it is too addictive for people. Many people are addicted to their smart devices and constantly use them to keep track of things they can't remember. This is a great example of how dependent we are, we can't remember simple things like doing the shopping or what activities to do during the day. Recent research professors have studied how our memory is affected by technologies today, "digital technologies are implicated not only in how we remember.