Using Google may make us more forgetful Constant internet connections on smartphones and powerful search engines such as Google allow us to access a wealth of information within seconds. But that constant fact-checking may be making us more forgetful, as we begin to rely on computers as an extension of our own brains and neglect our own memory. Researchers found in tests that people were more likely to be able to remember facts shown to them on a computer if they thought that the information was immediately erased. Those who believed that the information had been safely stored were more likely to forget it, relying on the fact that they could simply recall it later. These results came after both groups were told to actively remember what they had seen. Daniel Wegner, a psychology professor from Harvard University, and Adrian Ward, a senior research associate at the University of Colorado Boulder, wrote in a paper published in Scientific American: "Using Google gives people the sense that the internet has become part of their own cognitive tool set. We off-load memories to 'the cloud' just as readily as we would to a family member, friend or lover. The scientists also conducted a test where people were asked to answer a series of trivia questions, with one group being given access to a search engine and the other group having to rely on their own knowledge. The group that were able to search for the answers were shown to have a higher opinion of their own intelligence after the tests than the other set of participants, showing that they had come to think of Google as an extension of their own brain rather than a separate entity for which they could not claim credit.