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Running head: MEMORY CONVERGENCE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Memory Convergence Relating to Fabricated News being
shared on Social Media
April 8, 2019

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MEMORY CONVERGENCE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Memory Convergence Relating to Fabricated News being Shared on Social Media
“The Shared Past that Wasn’t” by Laura Spinney in (2017), could be an eye-opener to many
individuals, who are unaware of the various forms of misleading information being disseminated
on social media platforms. Also, intriguing is the immense influence this has on the recollections
of past happenings in the social world. Spinney (2017), defined memory convergence as the
process by which people agree on information and or past events. The author further draws
attention to the problem of social media, specifically networking sites, being a way in which
people circulate fabricated news, subsequently constituting collective recollections of historical
occurrences than individual memories. The author also identified that social groups, whilst
strengthening and bonding with their group members, act as influence aiding in the consistency
or distortion of information, all through the process of memory convergence (Spinney, 2017).
From a social psychological perspective, this can be considered to occur as a result of social
influence (Baron & Branscombe, 2012).
This leads me to critically examine the validity of Spinney’s (2017) article to determine
whether it is scientific or pseudoscience. There are numerous requirements that an article must
adhere to so that it can be classified as a scientific paper. One such criterion is that it should have
hypotheses that are probability based and drawn from possible observations (Smith, 2019).
Additionally, Baron & Branscombe (2012), defined a hypothesis as an unsubstantiated prediction
and measure of confidence regarding some aspect of social behaviour or social thought.
Spinney (2017) hypothesized that “communication shapes memory” (p. 168), She later used
inductive reasoning to support her statement by citing similar studies that illustrated memory
convergence occurring on social media networks and in social groups. According to Smith
(2019), there are generally fixed characteristics that can be used to detect good scientific thinking

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MEMORY CONVERGENCE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
such as the accuracy, consistency, scope, simplicity, fruitfulness and falsifiability evident in a
scientific paper. Spinney’s article displayed most of those features. She included realistic
explanations in an almost effortless way to her readers. Furthermore, she agreed on pre-existing
theories that elucidated a wide array of similar patterns of events, that could very well spark
interest in her readers to do further research and test other potential causes of the phenomenon,
thereby satisfying the requirements for falsifiability (Smith, 2017).
My opinion about this topic is that many people do not see social media as a problem in
our society, as it has been continuously advertised as a desirable medium through which we
become closer without being physically there. However, social media, in actuality, presents a
serious dilemma as the upsurge of the sharing of false information has become rampant all
around us. I believe the perspective of the author was important as it finally highlights the
complexity of social media and how it affects our memory. I agree that much of the information
Spinney (2019) reported was helpful to me for understanding the topic far beyond the superficial
level. On the other hand, I disagree with her statement that “collective memories form the basis
of history” (p. 168), as there are other means of retrieving news such as the television, the radio
and in the newspaper, which are written by reputable sources. Hence, we have the mental
capacities to distinguish between bogus news from real news.
Interestingly, I thought the author would have mentioned the concept of deindividuation in the
article as it would be relevant to the topic. Baron & Branscombe (2012), asserted that
deindividuation is a mental state in which an individual suffers from a decreased sense of
individuality and personal duty, due to the anonymity of being in a crowd of people (in this
instance a group). This concept as it concerns a social group means that individuals who have
unique value systems would possibly suppress them to feel accepted by engaging in the norms of

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MEMORY CONVERGENCE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
a group. Moreover, this profound anonymity decreases their internal control against exhibiting
socially unwanted behaviours. Hence, persons under the influence of deindividuation come to
display increasingly irrational and irresponsible thoughts and actions.
In conclusion, deindividuation and the sharing of misleading information on social media
networking sites can be considered major factors when there is anonymity in posting
information. It provides people with the opportunity to socialize with similar-minded people.
They then can influence them to experiment and spread fake news and push the boundaries of
other users. This was recently evident in Jamaica, when a popular media personality in Jamaica
called Mackerel was said to be a prostitute because of her explicit behaviour on social media.
However, it was later discovered that Jenny Jenny’s (a media personality) statement on the issue
was repeated and hyperbolized out of context and accepted by nameless, faceless listeners and
social media users. Hence, to improve the Caribbean’s current reality of stigma and judgement
towards persons we don’t even know, we should, as individuals, research information and seek
answers for ourselves rather than accepting what we are dished on social media.

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MEMORY CONVERGENCE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
References
Spinney, L. (2017). How Facebook, Fake News and Friends are Warping Your Memory. Nature,
543, 168–170. doi:10.1038/543168a
Smith, E. (2019). Thinking like a psychological scientist. In R. Biswas-Diener & E. Diener
(Eds), Noba textbook series: Psychology. Champaign, IL: DEF publishers.
DOI:nobaproject.com
Baron, R., & Branscombe, N. (2012). Social Psychology. New York, NY: Pearson Education,
Inc.