The Cost of Capturing: How Smartphone Photo-Taking Alters Memory Performance and Cognitive Self-Esteem: The Role of Smartphone Self-Expansion

Taking photos to manage memories with smartphones is a routine strategy in the digital era. However, it remains unclear how smartphone photo-taking affects memory performance and self-evaluation. This research examined whether smartphone photo-taking is associated with a pattern consistent with the “Google effect,” and whether these associations vary with self-expansion via smartphone use. Across three experiments ( N = 363), participants photographed or observed materials before completing memory tests and measures of cognitive self-esteem. Study 1 tested the basic photo-taking effect; Study 2a examined device ownership as a contextual proxy for smartphone self-expansion; and Study 2b examined trait self-expansion as a continuous moderator. Results showed a photo-taking-impairment effect on memory, alongside higher cognitive self-esteem following photo-taking. Moreover, higher smartphone self-expansion was associated with stronger increases in cognitive self-esteem and greater memory overestimation, whereas its role in objective memory impairment remained inconclusive. Altogether, the findings suggest that smartphone photo-taking can reduce memory performance while increasing cognitive self-esteem.