What is worse, short term memory loss or long?

Depends: You're probably thinking of aging issues and ultimately dementia. Most aging memory losses are seen 1st as short-term problems because they can have major impacts on daily functioning. Few people will care if you forget you 5th grade teacher's name but your family will worry if you forget to pay bills, take meds, how to get home. But you'd care if you lose parts of your identity that you value.