Comments on: Media-Multitasking and ‘The Good Life’

By: rachel

rachel — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 03:44:39 +0000

Regarding technology, I do admit that I multitask. I often find myself doing homework on the computer with at least 3 tabs open (maybe The New Yorker, Blogspot.com, Pandora) while conversing with multiple people through text messages and Facebook or email. I’m also probably eating.

Afterwards, I think: what did I just get done? Where did all that time go?

I realize that multitasking is paradoxical and ultimately futile (as the studies confirm). So while I do cave sometimes, I don’t think the intention behind my multitasking is informed by some belief that the more tasks I devote my attention to, the more specific work I will accomplish; time and time again, I realize that this is impossible. I think multitasking has emerged as a current, relatively new trend because of how technology is designed to work in the first place. Technology allows us to reach goals through efficient, quick, cheap, relatively pain-free means, and mandates nearly every aspect of human life: economics, production, politics, education, the media, communication, the internet, and so forth. So when we use technology (which we do, every day, all the time), this is exactly our mindset: to reach goals quickly and efficiently. When we approach tasks, then, we approach them with one thing in mind: how can I get all these things done in the last amount of time while expending the least amount of energy?

Although I can’t recall the specific details, I once heard of a study that reflected this phenomenon by demonstrating a bizarre effect of repeated and excessive use of computers on human interaction. The study basically showed that people who sit in front of a computer screen all day (probably multitasking, whether for work, entertainment, communication, etc.) adopt certain expectations of how the device should operate, process, and respond to their input. The users described the main characteristics of the computers as predictable, controllable, efficient, fast, easy, convenient, impersonal, and so on. The effect of this continued use of and interaction with these technologies actually carried over to the people’s interactions with other humans. So, the user would begin to automatically attribute characteristics as those that human should embody, without realizing those characteristics are specific to computers. The users demonstrated severe impatience and frustration towards the error, slowness, and inefficiency of other human workers because they expected them to operate like computers.

Now, I remember being very troubled by this phenomenon because I didn’t understand it at the time. But with all these new studies on the effects of multitasking, it is much clearer to me. The way in which we engage ourselves with technology really does affect our views on or expectations of productivity. Through multitasking, our attention spans are increasingly dwindled, and have profound impacts on our more aspects of our lives than we are aware.

By: Jorge Castrillo

Jorge Castrillo — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:36:02 +0000

My increase in multitasking has lead me to be less engaged in things. I can have several conversations through texting, instant messaging, ect. and since these conversations are being filtered through a screen I can remove myself even a step further from these conversations by watching t.v., listening to music, ect. With modern technology it is very easy to have unengaged social interactions. However, I feel that the new level of multitasking allowed through modern-technology has increased my engagement with some things. My personal example is with video games. (I play a lot of fighting games, and in them timing is key. A combo can go terribly wrong if something isnt timed correctly.) I can more effectively learn combos for fighting games with modern-technology. I can look up how to do the combo on youtube, be playing the game, and talking on a message board with someone about the particular combo. I am multi-tasking; watching a video, talking to someone, and playing a game, but for one goal. So I would say that there is an increased level of engagement with some things. But I am less engaged with most things. There is a constant level of “I would rather be” or “I could rather be” in almost everything I do because in any given situation there is an escape. A text can get me out of any situation, multi-tasking helps me not die of uninterest.

By: Alex G

Alex G — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 05:51:41 +0000

I certainly agree that multitasking and technology are related, but I think this is simply because technology makes multitasking possible. Without IPODS, computers, cell phones, and other technological gadgets that are most commonly used to multitask, it would be impossible to multitask in the ways that so many people are accustomed to. I think all of us have worked on papers while listening to music, or attempted to have a conversation with someone who is constantly checking their phone for text messages, e-mails, or facebook messages, and the quality of both are significantly decreased. I think acperez makes a good point, stating that he (or she) remembers writing papers and writing words from the television he is simultaneously watching, and then, looking back, notices that his paper uses words he heard from the television that do not belong in the paper. This is a common problem that I have admittedly had, and again reflects the difficulty of multitasking.
Still, Sam Anderson’s point in “In Defense of Distraction, argues that our brain may evolve in order to more effectively multi-task. This possibility is intriguing, for if it is truly possible, our abilities could greatly grow. However, without more information, I am not inclined to believe that it is absolutely inevitably that our brain will, “change to deal more effectively with more information”. Even if this is true, how do we know that our brain won’t simultaneously regress in its ability to focus on and analyze one task? If our brain will evolve towards sufficient multitasking with practice, how do we know it won’t lose the abilities of concentration without practice?

By: GRoy

GRoy — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:58:12 +0000

Multitasking and technology seem to be directly correlated. The most obvious example is cell phones. Before, we used to just talk on them. It was more convenient than dialing house phones looking for your friends. Then phones could take pictures as well as make calls. Then they added video. Think about how many features your phone has today. I can use my phone to simultaneously check my email, sports scores, bank account, and maybe if I have time, use it to call somebody. It isn’t a bad thing either. Just the natural progression of society. Our parents aren’t traditionally good at multitasking because they didn’t practice it as much as the younger generation does. The next generation is going to be doing so many things at once it will probably make our heads hurt. But it will just be a regular thing for them. Just a sign of how society is keeping up with increases in technology.

By: acperez1

acperez1 — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:33:16 +0000

I must say, I am constantly multitasking and usually one of my tasks includes technology. Tuesday is my day to cook and while doing so, I am on the phone with one of my sisters while watching TV. That type of multitasking does work for me and I do get more things done. However, when it comes to higher cognitive activities I do not recommend multitasking. I have had the experience of writing up something while seeing TV and when I go back and check I realize that I wrote a couple of words that express what I am watching and not what I am thinking about. This is evidently not time efficient and affects me negatively in a direct way. When writing a paper I need to be completely isolated from everything else. Ask me how I do that? I use a technology: sound-canceling earphones. It is inevitable to be in constant contact with technology. However, what distinguishes intelligent people from the rest is that they choose what, when and where they use technology depending on the circumstances. Knowing this does not mean that I strictly follow it. I still cave to multitasking. Without knowing it I sometimes endanger myself by putting on make-up while driving and changing the song on my Ipod. Technology and gadgets are such an essential part of our lives that we do not even notice the degree of attachment we have to them.

By: GTaylor

GTaylor — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:30:07 +0000

Multitasking has never been one of my strengths in life. But as I have gotten older, and advancements have been made in the realm of technology, I have slowly tried to teach myself how to multitask, especially when doing work. The problem is, it is still hard for me to do, and being in a dorm at college surrounded by energized students can make it even harder for me to concentrate. It is not that I do not listen to music while searching the web or talking with friends, but I try to avoid multitasking when actual work is involved.
I realize that with the world becoming so fast-paced, multitasking is almost a necessity now-a-days. We can see the lack of attention people have when they must divert themselves to one specific thing. Just look at music videos or sports news shows; the clips are extremely short., and camera angles change frequently. This shows that even in many professional settings, people need to at least be able to multitask.
The fact that people always need to be doing something is the main reason the iphone has taken off in popularity. The iphone is the multitasking tool of the century. While we are walking to our next destination, we can check our email, listen to music, and read news articles; the possibilities are endless. Because of this, I worry that my inability to multitask will hurt me later in life, especially regarding jobs.
However, I also realize that in a school setting, it has a positive side. When it comes to homework, I stay away from music, and I do not sign onto Facebook. Instead, I have to focus on the specific task I am doing. On the other hand, everyone around me tends to strive off of multitasking. They play music, open up five tabs on their Internet browsers, and even talk with other friends, all while writing a paper. In a way, it is nice and peaceful to be able to tone all of these distractions out. I do not need to think about anything other than what I am doing at that point in time. Even with movies or television shows, my one-track mind allows me to fully appreciate what I am up to right then.
Nevertheless, I must face reality. And reality is pushing me to join in and multitask alongside everyone else, because whether or not I decide to have a one-track mind, people multitasking around me still impact the outcome of what I am doing. In that sense, I have become better at cancelling out the music down the hall in my dorm, or the television pointing in my direction. So as for now, I will attempt to remain away from multitasking. That is, if work is involved.

By: Calliopi Hadjipateras

Calliopi Hadjipateras — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:47:14 +0000

I would have to take a dystopian point of view regarding the effects of multitasking technology has created. While technological advancements have created new potentials and opportunities with what we can do in a short period of time, are we really getting anything out of it? Is it really productive multitasking? Or blind multitasking? Right now, I have an overwhelming number of windows open. My Facebook page, my e-mail, my Communication class homepage, Santa Clara University homepage, course availability site, Microsoft word, …the list goes on. I think that if I only had this one website open, I would feel underproductive and like I could be doing more. This mentality is a direct result of technology. If technology didn’t make it possible for me to be “doing” so many things at once, there would be no need to feel like I have to have one hundred windows open while I am in front of the screen. The effect multitasking has had is somewhat bittersweet: while it creates this notion that I am getting a lot more done in a shorter period of time, I am actually focusing less attention over a wider range of things. The negative effects of multitasking are somewhat hidden; they are only brought to the fore when you really sit down and think about how easy it is to text, Facebook, e-mail, and browse the web all at once. It’s truly overwhelming and it is scary to think that this is what I have become used to. Even take the blackberry—just on this single technological device, I can use my multitasking skills to the fullest: check my Facebook, get an email, get a text message, and listen to a voicemail. The options are endless. What’s ironic is that the more multitasking I do, the more stressed I feel. While it may appear like I am getting a lot done at once, this is certainly not the case.

By: nhughett

nhughett — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:29:08 +0000

Guilty as charged, I am the ultimate media multitasker. Perhaps this is because I do not know any other way to effectively work. Growing up in Silicon Valley I have always had a computer in front of me, my blackberry in hand, and the television going on all at the same time. For me this is a preference, I enjoy staying on task and keeping busy, even if it is at the expense of constantly switching my attention. After reading all of the studies throughout the article, I am ashamed to agree that I too start at my computer (along with other devices) for almost 8 hours a day. Of course I could blame most of this time in homework for school, but that isn’t to say that I don’t enjoy surfing the web and logging onto Facebook every time I receive a new comment on my wall. What has made my multitasking life so much more complicated is having all of my devices on my phone. With an app. for facebook, myspace, e-mail, google and school work it seems I always have information at the tip of my fingers at the cost of never being able to put my phone down. I currently have 5 browser windows open on my laptop, with 2 tabs on each of the windows. On my phone, I can open any application I wish while switching back and forth, chewing bubble gum, planning my night ahead, taking notes of a class lecture and daydreaming simultaneously. These facts are not some that I am particularly proud of, but they make me question how mulititasking (especially with media) has consumed so much of my life?

As I mentioned before, I am simply used to this lifestyle and found that some days multitasking is the only way to productively accomplish something. This harsh fact relates to how I have learned this trait through our society. As our technologies advance so does our sense of time and space. Our world is moving at such a fast pace these days that I notice myself becoming irritable if my browser window is not loading fast enough, my coffee is not ready on time, or simply waiting for others to complete a task. I have no time to waste in a day and therefore no time to rest. This is true for almost every person who has a job, family and life within todays society. Our world has made it so that we all must be excellent multitaskers so we do not fall behind. I assume that when I graduate from college, I will no longer be cramming in the wee hours of the night over a paper, but instead be working on a presentation for the office. Instead of being consumed with homework each day, I will find myself with the same amount if not more work ahead of me. This is a harsh reality that our society has faced and unfortunately as I see it we are only going to begin losing our time even more. It is exhausting to keep up with the norms of our harsh technological world, but as long as I have known I have always been a media multitasker. For me, this is not a huge issue, I am just glad I realize this and am able to take a breath for myself once in a while.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 23:33:39 +0000

This article raises some interesting questions about the usefulness of multitasking. On one level, multitasking is harmful: divided attention means lower net productivity. On another level, though, multitasking seems to be an essential and inescapable aspect of human life. Biologically, we are nothing but unrelenting multitaskers. Our hearts beat as our eyes blink as our lungs inhale – all because multiple networks of neurons fire simultaneously. Biological multitasking underlies all complex behavior. But is this really the ‘type’ of multitasking that this article discusses? There seems to be a difference between hearts beating and eyes blinking, on the one hand, and iPhone emailing and medical school studying, on the other. And this difference might lie in the physical vs. the mental. Physical processes, like the beating of a heart or the blinking of an eye, happen involuntarily: they are reflexive and instinctual behaviors, deeply embedded into the fabric of complex biological systems. Mental processes, like memorizing human anatomy or navigating through email on an iPhone, happen because we make them happen. The question is whether mental multitasking, unlike biological multitasking, is necessarily counterproductive. Some argue that the answer is an unequivocal ‘yes.’ Walter Kirn notes, “the mental balancing acts that [multitasking] requires—the constant switching and pivoting—energize regions of the brain that specialize in visual processing and physical coordination and simultaneously appear to shortchange some of the higher areas related to memory and learning.”

Why is biological multitasking so beneficial and mental multitasking so harmful? Sure, as Kirn notes, neurological evidence suggests that attempts at multitasking actually ’shortchange areas related to memory and learning.’ But perhaps we’re simply on the way to becoming as proficient at mental multitasking as we are currently at biological multitasking. If we look at the development of life on earth, we see that the kind of biological multitasking that keeps us alive today didn’t exist a few a billion years ago, when life first started forming. The biological processes in the first unicellular organisms were not of same complexity as those in today’s higher life forms; prokaryotic cells’ survival, for example, required only ’simple’ biological tasks like organizing amino acids into proteins. After billions of years of evolution, however, these unicellular organisms developed into multicellular, biologically multitasking organisms – and in the process the mental realm emerged from the growing organizational complexity of the physical realm. If the physical realm developed an ability to multitask, why then wouldn’t the mental realm follow suit – especially if the mental emerged from the physical. Perhaps in a billion years, sentient organisms will be able to engage productively in multiple mental tasks at once – in the same way the human body is now able to engage in multiple biological tasks at once. The involuntary biological multitasking of complex, multicellular organisms could not have been predicted a priori from unicellular organisms – perhaps this is true of mental multitasking as well.