We’ve all heard the phrase, “Pics or it didn’t happen.” But what if taking the picture actually makes us remember less of what happened?

Psychologists have been studying something called the photo-taking impairment effect: the idea that taking photos, especially mindlessly or excessively, can weaken our memory. In a 2013 study by Linda Henkel at Fairfield University, participants toured a museum. Some took photos of the art, others just looked. The surprising result? People remembered less about the items they photographed.

The reason behind this lies in the fact that while our brains are smart, they’re also a bit lazy. When we take a photo, the brain treats it like a backup file, it assumes the device is storing the experience, so it doesn’t bother encoding it fully. The result? We end up offloading memory to technology that doesn’t know what really matters.

This habit goes beyond just photos. At a recent Memorial Day marching show, I watched the row in front of me view the entire performance through their screens, recording clips they’d probably never revisit. And I get it, recording feels like a way to hold on. But when filming becomes our focus, the actual experience slips past us.

In no shape or form is this an anti-photo rant. Pictures let us see ourselves from the outside, and they could aid in memory if taken with proper intention. But somewhere along the way, taking pictures became reflexive. Instead of pausing to capture something meaningful, we snap without thinking, as if proof of our presence matters more than the moment itself.

With graduation coming up, the urge to capture everything will be stronger than ever. The caps midair, the awkward group poses, the “we finally made it” selfies. That’s fine. Take a photo. Take two. But also take a second to look around without the lens.

Let some memories be blurry, incomplete, or even undocumented. Let them live in the space between what we can post and what we can only feel. Because five or ten years from now, the moments that last won’t be the ones with perfect lighting. They’ll be the ones we actually paid attention to.