I have some attention span problems, that obviously affects my memory, that is pretty good otherwise.
I read and watch a lot of informative stuff online (I know we all do, but I kind of consider my job because I can't work), including an entire psychology course broadcast online from UC at Berkeley, but I have a hard time retaining things.
I've recently become deeply devoted to learning about the Israeli/Palestine conflict. I've honestly probably watched at least 50 hours worth of lectures, discussions and debates on the topic, viewing each multiple times.
It's taken me this much to retain the information, and the scholarly literature or documentary record on the occupation. This hasn't been the case in the past.
Something that I think has a big contribution to ailing memory is that there is a new societal paradigm. It's a paradigm of a lazy culture. Part of this is that we're constantly doing repetitive tasks. Yes, this has always been the case (I think it's getting worse with time), as it makes life easier, but I believe it's also a causation of memory loss because we don't have to stimulate our brain as much to remember where things are, it's more so ingrained in us.
We're also using technology to store information now more so than ever. The simplest example is a phone number contact list. When I was a kid, I did my best to remember everyone's phone number, but now there's a contact list on my cell phone, home phone, and a phone list directly beside me. Of course the majority of us had our own personal phone book back then, but I made a concerted effort to remember the phone numbers because I found it to be a hassle to find the number in a book.
There's something else I wanted to mention, but seriously, I can't remember. Now isn't that apropos.
This is my 2¢. Or maybe 1.5¢ because I can't remember my other point.
