1

Multitasking- A Costly Talent

You walk around through the campus, you pass by seven people with their iPhones,
iPads, laptops, talking, texting, typing. You come home, at dinner people sit with their phone by
their side, glancing down once in a while to check the buzz that just made their chair tremble. If
the phone does not buzz and the eyes are not turned towards the phone, it is probably because the
TV is turned on. If you visit a teenagers room, there will be a phone, iPod with headphones, TV
and the laptop with several open browsers and pages. Sounds familiar? I fear the day that
technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots, said once
Albert Einstein.
In todays modern day age, technology has taken over our lives and is part of our daily
routine. The 21st century is an era of the digital world. Children, according to Paul, A. M. in the
article The New Marshmallow Test: Students Cant Resist Multitasking study, are exposed at
earlier age to technological devices and students in both high school and college are increasing
their use of social media such as Facebook (Paul, A. M. 2013). Reference by Pauls article, in a
scientific study done by Larry Rosen in Computers in Human Behavior: Facebook and texting
made me do it: Media-induced task-switching while studying, the new generations starting with
the 1980s, called the Net Generation spend their days connected to the digital life, converting
it not only into a full time job but also a habit ((Rosen, L.D et. al, 2013). Ironically, in a social
media article posted through Facebook, citing Pauls article as the source, this generation
mastered multitasking, being able to listen in class, do homework, check their feed on Facebook
and social media pages, and answer a text massage, all at the same time (Kirschner, P. A. (n.d.)).
Rosen, in his study, talks about the effectiveness of multitasking and how much of the
information to be retained is actually remembered; how much multitasking affects academic

learning and the grade point average (GPA) of the student. This information and its continent
facts are mentioned in both the posted article on Facebook and Pauls article. According to his
results, which are mentioned in the scientific paper, information is extrapolated and used in the
article while incorporating studies that have been made to confirm or disprove whether having
electronic breaks from studying improve students learning process and their ability to retrieve
the learned information from class. Additionally, in Rosens scientific paper review of the effects
of social media, surfing the web, and videogames on GPA and learning, several more in detail
studies were incorporated to support the negative effects such distraction while in an educational
setting. One such study, was one done by CourseSmart and Wakefield Research, from which 500
college students were interviewed and observed. The study concluded, from observations and
monitoring, that 73% had some form device next to them while studying and 38% were not able
to concentrate on the course work without using a device for more than 10 minutes (Rosen, L.D
et. al, 2013). In all 3 sources, it is agreed upon that individuals who switch between 2 tasks, take
longer to complete one task than if each task was done one at a time. In Rosens research paper,
the study by Wand & Tchernev was referenced and his study supported their findings that
determined that multitasking works by cognitive drives and not so much short-term emotional
needs or long-term needs but the desire of multitasking is an emotional rewards gained-even at
cost of learning (Rosen, L.D et. al, 2013). Additionally, different studies mentioned in his paper
showed that college students who used Facebook spent less time studying and had lower GPAs;
their GPA dropping .12 points for every 93 min above the average of 106 minutes each day
(Rosen, L.D et. al, 2013). Also, students that used any kind of communication device while at
home studying had a lower GPA than those who did not; students that used Facebook or
messaging during a lecture received a worse grade in the exams that students that paid attention

in class. This fact was universal on all sources and all sources mentioned social media usage and
its correlation to a lower GPA and a lower number of hours spent studying per week.
Furthermore, just like the study by Wand & Tchernev referenced by Rosens research,
main stream press publications such Youll Never Learn! Students cant resist multitasking, and
its impairing their memory by Annie Murphy Paul and blogs such as Beyond BookSmart Blog:
Executive Functioning Strategies on Distracted by Technology: Focusing Attention on
Homework by Howard do selectively use information form their primary and secondary sources
of information (the research studies or studies referencing the original research); however, both
are bias in only focusing their attention to one factor from the studies and making it more
personal. The aim of the blog and the mainstream press publication of the article on the topic is
focused on both informing the public in a simple, easy way to understand that people can relate
to the topic. The starting sentences of such are not factual and do not hit the key points that a
research paper would start with hook phrases or questions such as the one used in the Beyond
Booksmart Blog by Howard: Does your child stay up all night doing homework? Is he or she
often texting or online while doing homework or studying? Is it possible for students to study
and do their homework effectively while being distracted by technology? Is focusing attention on
homework really all that important? Its just homework, right?( Howard, M. 2015). The blog of
all sources was written in a descriptive creative writing style while the main stream press article
publications are more informative and descriptive in their writing when both are analyzed for
their content and style. In comparison to research papers and journals described above, the blog
and main stream article do not offer much scientific background and detail about the study even
though all share the same idea. All present the information in a different way. For instance, the
Annie Murphy Paul aimed to inform about how multitasking diminishes the productivity, in
particular students, which was also a main point in Wangs publication. Yet, Wangs paper did

include studies of how interrupting a visual task with a visual instant message compared to
interruption by an auditory conversation on the same topic reduced multitasking, and not only
increased the time of completing a task but also resulted in a shallower thinking missing any
critical, and analytical interpretation of the topic (Rosen, L.D. et. al.2013). No doubt, Rosens
work and compilation of scientific evidence is more complex and more informative even though
it is not meant for all audiences since it is more geared to the scientific community. Rosens
inclusion of multiple studies such the study done by Wand & Tchernev, sets the information
content to a higher standard. In the blog, media article, Facebook post article, and scientific study
many studies were mentioned and were done with varying ages groups. However, one of the age
groups that were focused on the most was that of students in their late teens and that of college
and law students from freshman year all the way to seniors. One variable of all studies was the
same from all sources from the studies used and that was of the increased interest and concern on
how technology mentally affects our intellect in retrieval. How the information is communicated
in 4 different types of sources is different. All four sources show how society shapes how
information is presented, such as the case with the blog and mainstream article, from the actual
scientific study contained compiled information from many authors and research done
throughout the years. People in society do not want to hear all the details found in a scientific
study and mainstream sites and social media understand this fact to be true from a societal
standpoint. Therefore, information is diluted from source to source in media outlets.

Reference
Howard, M. (2015, March 27). Distracted by Technology: Focusing Attention on Homework.
Retrieved September 02, 2016, from http://www.beyondbooksmart.com/executivefunctioning-strategies-blog/distracted-by-technology-focusing-attention-on-homework
Kirschner, P. A. (n.d.). Facebook and academic performance. Retrieved September 02, 2016,
from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563210000646
Paul, A. M. (2013). The New Marshmallow Test: Students Cant Resist Multitasking. Retrieved
September 01, 2016, from
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/05/multitasking_while_st
udying_divided_attention_and_technological_gadgets.html
Rosen, L.D., Et. al. (2013). Facebook and texting made me do it: Media-induced taskswitching while studying. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), 948-958.