How many electronic devices do you use on a regular basis ?
Smartphone, Laptop, Tablet, Smartwatch, TV, Hi Fi system, radio ... Nowadays it seems like everyone carries a long list of electronic devices with them.
Texting on your phone while watching TV in the background and also looking up something on your laptop at the same time - does this sound like you?!
This scenario is called Media Multitasking - nowadays, we are surrounded by so many different smart devices that we often end up using them simultaneously and multitasking between them.
It probably makes us feel more productive if we handle different tasks on different devices at the same time, and it gives the illusion of getting more done - but in reality, media multitasking is just slowing you down!
Media Multitasking and its effect on our cognitive abilities
Media multitasking affects mostly young adults and people of the "digital native" generation, and with all these different devices around us, it's far too easy to get into it.
Media multitasking affects the way we communicate, the way we learn, and the way we think!
Studies have shown that teenagers who often switch their attention back and forth (for example between listening to a lecture and texting) were actually less able to filter out irrelevant distractions even when they were not texting at the same time.
This just goes to show that media multitasking EVEN affects us and our cognitive abilities when we have stopped multitasking for a while.
Let's look at 3 different studies to prove the theory that media multitasking does indeed harm our productivity!
#1 - Media Multitasking and distractibility (2017 study)
A few months ago, a research team from the university of Helsinki studied performance in working memory and attention tasks when using different forms of media.
Lead researcher Mona Moisala tested the participants aged 13-24 by giving them specific tasks that work their attention and memory. During that task, she used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to record brain activity.
Results
Young adults who had reported to be more likely to media multitask during their free time struggled more with the attention-related tasks. It was difficult for them to filter out the distractive stimuli, and they were showing higher activity in regions of their frontal lobe which can be interpreted as a sign for excessive strain.
Those who stated to play computer games regularly showed enhanced functions in working memory and also better reaction times, which are some cognitive benefits of gaming that have been reported in previous studies.
"Taken together, the results from these studies are of great importance, since it is vital to understand how the increasing amount of on-screen time might affect or interact with the cognitive and brain functioning of the current youth. This data is exceptionally extensive and provides us with the possibility to investigate the effects of technology use on the developing brain"-Mona Moisala, lead researcher of the study
#2 Multitasking decreases gray matter density (2014 study)
Scientists from the University of Sussex found out that gray matter density in one particular region of the brain is actually lower for those people who often use different media devices simultaneously.
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), they conducted brain scans of 75 adults who had previously filled out questionnaires about their use of media devices like phones and TV.
Results
Participants who stated to use media multitasking more frequently had smaller gray matter density in the part of the brain known as the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).
The ACC is responsible for cognitive and emotional processing and lies in the limbic cortex.
But the researchers also added that more studies would need to be conducted in order to find out if multitasking leads to reduced gray matter or if people with smaller gray matter are more likely to multitask.
“Media multitasking is becoming more prevalent in our lives today and there is increasing concern about its impacts on our cognition and social-emotional well-being. Our study was the first to reveal links between media multitasking and brain structure."-Kepkee Loh, study researcher
#3 - Media Multitasking in adolescence (2016 study)
Just over one year ago, a study published in Psychonomic Bulletin & Review was conducted to find out more about the effects of Media multitasking in adolescence.
73 middle school students were asked how many hours they spent on certain activities weekly, as well as how often they combined these activities.
In the questionnaire, they could choose between different activities like listening to music, watching TV, talking on the phone, texting, listening to music, playing games, reading electronic media, writing, create tasks and more.
The researchers also tested the students' overall cognitive abilities like vocabulary, working memory and manual dexterity, and interviewed them about personality traits like conscientiousness, impulsiveness or personality traits.
Lastly, the researchers collected students' scores on state math and english exams to get an overview of their academic achievements, and asked the students whether or not they thought their academic abilities could be improved.
Results
The results showed clearly how those students who multi-tasked more were less likely to do well in school.
They scored worse on state exams as well as cognitive tests for working memory, they were more likely to believe that their intelligence was fixed and tended to be more impulsive.
"We found a link between greater media multitasking and worse academic outcomes in adolescents. This relationship may be due to decreased executive functions and increased impulsiveness — both previously associated with both greater media multitasking and worse academic outcomes. Though the researchers noted that these findings support previous media multitasking studies conducted on adults, it is still not possible to establish a causal link between media multitasking and poor cognitive abilities. The direction of causality is difficult to establish. For example, media multitasking may be a consequence of underlying cognitive differences and not vice versa.”-Amy Finn, one of the study’s leaders
Conclusion
All 3 studies have clearly shown that frequent media multitasking lowered our cognitive abilities, memory, attention, and might even decrease gray matter.
And of course, there are a lot more studies apart from these 3 who also proved similar results!
So it seems to be clear that media multitasking has a negative effect not only on our productivity, but also overall cognitive ability.
The solution?
Try sticking to one task on one device for at least a few minutes without getting distracted. Turn off other electronic devices near you and put your phone on silent.
It's better to schedule frequent 5-minute-breaks instead of trying to complete a task for several hours and then ending up doing something else and procrastinating because you were distracted!
Do you do media-multitasking? What effects does it have on you?
© Sirwinchester