· In 1999, only 16 percent of the time people spent using any media was spent on multiple media at once; by 2005, 26 percent of media time was spent multitasking. (a 2006 report from the Kaiser Family Foundation).
· According to the Generation M study, about 15% of 7th–12th graders say they use another medium “most of the time” they’re using at least three out of the four media in the study (TV, reading, videogames, and computers). These are considered “heavy” media multitaskers (http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/7593.pdf)
· Today’s 8-18 year old age group is so good at multitasking using media that they are able to actually pack a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes worth of media content into 7½ hours.
I’d like to take a step back and revisit the original inspiration for this blog, the June 11th, 2010 story on NPR titled Does Multitasking Lead To A More Productive Brain? http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127771658
In this show the host, Ira Flatow, interviews two experts on the concept, Clifford Nass a professor of Communications at Standford University; and ADAM GAZZALEY the Director of the Neuroscience Imaging Center, University of California, San Francisco.
The pose the question “Does multitasking lead to a more productive brain”? In response to this question Dr. Gazzaley points out that “it's becoming increasingly viewed that our brains are not highly adapted for multiple streams of information at the same time but rather focusing at a particular direction.” He goes on to say that when we multitask we have to “switch” in our brains as well “and with each switch, there's a cost, a cost in performance that occurs”
Professor Nass even goes on to say that with studies on multitasking, the people who think they multitask the best are actually the worst at it.
One of the biggest concerns the show brought up was that upcoming generations; tweens, teens, and 20’s, have all been raised multitasking. The growing concern is that there is not long term data to show what this means for people. Are people of younger generations developing a different cognitive learning pattern? Is it for the better or the worse?
Based on Dr. Gazzaley’s reflection on multitasking causing poor performance, I’m tempted to state that “yes, of course! And it’s affecting our communication!”
But I’m not so sure it is.
I’m a multitasker and I certainly don’t want to admit that I’m performing poorly texting a friend while listening to another friend’s story. But maybe I am.
The brain is a complex instrument and being raised to multitasking is perhaps a good brain development activity. Maybe we are learning to stretch our brains in new ways. Or maybe we are raising an entire generation or people who have a poor attention span and performance record.
As Professor Nass states, “it seems that the developmental implications are very worrisome. As I said, the children, we look at college students primarily, although we're expanding to many other populations, students who have had a great deal of multitasking in their younger lives, and what we're seeing is, again, the ones who do it more lose some fundamental abilities”
Thoughts?
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