The Effects Of Multitasking On College Students

Growing up in a generation where technology is at our fingertips, the brain changes its organization and functioning to accommodate the abundance of stimulation forced on it by the modern world. I recognize where Restak’s logic comes from because individuals are so dependent on phones and laptops that it becomes a challenge for people to complete work on their own. People feel as if it is necessary to have an electronic device by their side, tricked into believing multitasking is an acquired skill when in reality the brain is struggling. With the constant use of extra devices, Restak suggests “multitasking”

Multitasking, helpful or harmful? In Alina Tugend’s “Multitasking Can Make You Lose…Um…Focus”, Tugend explores multitasking in several ways. Explaining how we as humans sacrifice focus “shifting focus from task to task gives illusion that we’re simultaneously tasking”. Also, how our brains react to operating and trying to do more than one task at once. Only one or two visual stimulants can activate our neurons at one particular time. Lastly, how we can recreate boundaries and cope with everyday life and multitasking. Tugend reiterates several times the importance of one task at a time so we as humans can effectively complete tasks to the best of our abilities instead of giving partial focus and not efficiently completely a task. Multitasking is very beneficial at times, but more often there are significant downfalls; it is crucial we learn how to manage the downfalls of juggling tasks, events, conversations, and daily events.

In “Multitasking Can Make You Lose...Um...Focus,” Alina Tugend examines the negative aspects and many disadvantages that occur through multitasking. Tugend begins by stating that multitasking is the norm for today’s fast paced society; however, in reality it is pulling focus from the task at hand. The author continues on to cite various researchers who express that the brain cannot simultaneously do two tasks at once and is actually just flipping back and forth between tasks rapidly. Although multitasking seems like a time efficient method, Tugend reveals, it is actually creating a large amount of stress and pressure on the individual. Furthermore, the author notes that multitasking actually pulls away from the task at hand creating a great time loss. Tugend even goes on to explain that multitasking is proving to be bad for innovation by not allowing an individual to think in depth about one task for an extended period of time. With Tugends article in mind I agree that multitasking puts a lot of stress and pressure on the individual, creates a loss in time, and is awful for innovation.

Multitasking is a myth. There is no such thing as multitasking, if you multitask it will not be as good of work as if you don't multitask. Many experts have done studies and experiments on how multitasking hurts the brain and here is proof of that. Teens cannot effectively multitask because students feed on the resources they have to help them multitask, Students emotionally need and want to multitask, and teens cannot focus on more than one thing at a time.

The gravity of the issue is certainly more pronounced in Wallis’ essay compared to Turkle’s. She begins by providing the reader with several scenarios that are likely to play out in the average American household. Each of the twins is in their own world as they veraciously absorb the stimulus coming from their computers, phones and tablets. They are supposed to be finishing homework but even a task with this much importance falls to the wayside. It suddenly becomes apparent that these kids are addicted to their devices, something that has become all too common in many of our own homes. The term multi-tasker was once used to define a person who could do many things at one time successfully. However, Wallis explains that this is nearly impossible.

Multitasking is a common technique used by most people that is thought to be a way of getting tasks done quicker. With the need for speed in today’s society there is more that has to be done in a minimal time. But what people do not realize is that when they cram their work into a limited amount of time, it can backfire altogether. Within this paper will be an explanation of the negative side effects that may come with multitasking such as stress, physical health problems, and frequently making mistakes.

Multitasking is not what everyone thinks it means. The ability for one to multitask has been sought after by employers and college professors for decades. The narrative that the brain can actually perform more than one task at a time effectively is unfounded. In Alina Tugend’s “ Multitasking Can Make You Lose… Um… Focus” and Verna von Pfetten’s “Read This Story Without Distraction (Can You?), both authors in fact describe the limitations of the human mind can actually prevent one from effectively multitasking thus showing that monotasking, only performing a singular task at a time, is the future of time management.

In Is Multitasking Bad For Us, it states, “...multitasking is something done capably though not comfortably” (Keim). This quote shows that it's okay to multitask when you are in a rush but you may not understand what you are doing as good as if you didn't multitask. Therefore; people often do it because they have to because they don’t have time to do things one by one. Not to mention, this isn’t the only time people multitask because they are in a rush. In Teens Can Multitask, But What Are The Costs, students explain how they feel about multitasking by saying, “...multitasking makes them feel more productive and less stressed” (Aratani). People often get stressed because they have tons of stuff to do, but when you are multitasking you get things done faster and efficiently. My friend was in a rush to get ready for school one day and she had to straighten her hair in the car while

A child named Autumn took an English test and she studied hard with her friend, then she got her test back and she succeeded because she was multitasking. Multitasking can be effectively done by teenagers. The first reason is multitasking is a great way to get many things done. The second, reason is multitasking divides teens’ attention between many things. The final reason is multitasking is done better when you are focused.

When I was reading the textbook, it came to my attention that adolescents have the ability to attend to more than one thing at a time which is called divided attention or multitasking. There are countless examples that we as parents have walked in our children's room to see them listening to music, watching Netflix or even texting their friends while they are studying. Then we wonder, do they really learn as much while multitasking or are they just wasting valuable study time? They cannot multitask and concentrate on their homework, but most of them still continue to do that. The study shows that teenagers spend more than 6.5 hours a day, not including school or homework and almost nine hours with media.

Although it might seem like multitasking increases productivity and saves time, in reality, it causes students to repeat a lot of their work. While switching between tasks students will inadvertently repeat some of their work while trying to find where they left off, it doesn’t seem like much but when students are switching many times during the task it adds up. Not only must students find where they left off but must also find the train of thought that lead them there this can take even more time causing, even more, loss of productivity. Along with a loss in productivity, multitasking can also lower the quality of our work.

Hook: Everyone thinks that multitasking is good for the brain and that everyone should want that skill. Well unfortunately studies proven by scientist at the institute in Paris Santé et de la Recherche Médication found that the brain splits into two, basically splitting the attention. It was said that at the most someone can do two things at once depending on the ease of the tasks. The reason being for this is due to the two frontal lobes of the brain designed to help someone with tasks.

Human brains are not hardwired for the simultaneous performance of tasks, rather they can only allow for switching between different tasks (Herman et al as cited by Kirschner and van Merrienboer, 171). What appears to many observers as a generation of youth appearing to be good multi-taskers is really just a population switching between tasks or a generation of learners caught up in the “butterfly defect” (Kirschner and van Merrienboer 171), an unending loop of clicking on links and hyperlinks while never finding depth or value in new knowledge. Switching between tasks can lead to inefficiency in each task and possible errors. “It has been broadly shown that rapid switching behavior, when compared to carrying out tasks serially, leads to poorer learning results in students and poor performance of tasks” (Rogers and Monsell, Rubinstein et al as cited by Kirschner and van Merrienboer 172).

Today’s teenagers think they are very good at multi-tasking. The easy access to technology by teenagers make them very inclined to use it. Students at the Massachusetts Institution of Technology are the most connected people in the nation (Digital). These students believe that they are the best at multi-tasking. That means doing school work while playing a game or checking their social media. This social group of students has learned to become literally two places at once. They are constantly within a digital network whether that is through Facebook or another social outlet. Even through all this technology, students are actually struggling with multi-tasking. Students were tested to see how well they could switch between tasks. The test showed that a student tested better if focusing on one thing than one switching focus. Gathering this information reveals that a person

In modern times, hurry, bustle, and agitation have become a regular way of life for many people—so much so that we have embraced a word to describe our efforts to respond to the many pressing demands on our time: multitasking (Rosen, 2008, p. 105).