BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- There was a time when we took time to memorize important phone numbers.
But in the digital age, that's an ability that's becoming quickly obsolete.
So WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kendall Buhl asked several people just how many numbers they have memorized.
Most people who took our super non-scientific WBZ survey could only remember one or two telephone numbers for important people in their lives.
"Yes, my mom and dad, that's it," said one woman.
And some, not even that.
"I still don't know my own cell phone number," said another.
And these are people with good memories for figures.
"Numbers are easy, I even know my Army number from 1957," said one man.
But when he was asked about, say, his son's number?
"Not memorized," he admitted. "I have it in my phone at home."
There was one determined man who said he insisted on dialing every number he calls by memory--because he's afraid of what will happen if he doesn't.
"If you don't, you're going to forget," he said. "Me? I've got to exercise my brains."
We're just at the dawn of the age when computers in our pockets keep track of all of these things for us.
Just how much we'll commit to our memories in the future remains to be seen.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kendall Buhl reports