The Digital Expansion of the Mind: Implications of Internet Usage for Memory and Cognition

The internet is rapidly changing what information is available as well as how we find it and share it with others. Here we examine how this "digital expansion of the mind" changes cognition. We begin by identifying ten properties of the internet that likely affect cognition, roughly organized around internet content (e.g., the sheer amount of information available), internet usage (e.g., the requirement to search for information), and the people and communities who create and propagate content (e.g., people are connected in an unprecedented fashion). We use these properties to explain (or ask questions about) internet-related phenomena, such as habitual reliance on the internet, the propagation of misinformation, and consequences for autobiographical memory, among others. Our goal is to consider the impact of internet usage on many aspects of cognition, as people increasingly rely on the internet to seek, post, and share information.