The myth of multitasking
Last week I received an email from a parent saying they read my articles (at least I know one person reads them!) asking if I could write anything about how best we learn. So I have decided to write some short articles on some neuromyths that persist.
We all think that we are good at multitasking, making calls, checking emails, updating social media, listening to music and doing our work. Multitasking is the ability to do two cognitively demanding tasks at the same time. So, what is the evidence?
I am sure this has happened to us all. Imagine you are driving and you are lost or looking for a particular road name or direction and music is playing in the car. Nearly 100% of humans turn down the music to concentrate on looking for the road or direction. The brain finds too many sensory inputs hard to take and so you turn down the music to concentrate on looking!
Neuro-science shows us that none of us can perform two different cognitive processes simultaneously. Mental tasks which feel like they are being done in parallel are in fact sequential. Try reading a novel and listening to a podcast at the same time. It is possible to switch, but not focus on both. When our brains switch from one task to another we suffer cognitive loss. Often we will say, “now where was I?”. Research has found that driving while talking or texting on a cell phone has the same impact as driving drunk. It impairs driving performance to the same extent, in terms of reaction time, noticing road conditions and this is the cause of more car wrecks than anything except very drunk drivers. People who claim they can multitask may, in general, be better at minimising the cognitive loss associated with each switch in task.
You are working away on something and your smart phone beeps or you get a message alert. Do you check it straightaway? Almost all of us do and interestingly almost all of us reply to the message. Our brains crave instant gratification and we get a reward from the initial stimulus. Then, of course, the chat begins and we suffer massive cognitive loss. Recent research shows that most of us, not just our children, hop between different media. In fact, one study showed that lots of us watch TV, use our computers or phones, and switch between the screens on average 120 times in a 30-minute period. People who are heavy users of technology find it difficult, even impossible, to ignore distractions. In other words, heavy media multitaskers are generally worse at controlling their impulses and score lower in tests of fluid intelligence. So the implications for us all, including students, are clear.
- When you are working, revising and reviewing, don’t kid yourself that you can multitask. You cannot!
- Turn off phones and social messaging/media sites.
- Try not looking at your phone for an hour.
- Are you a master or slave of your digital devices?
- What is the sum total of your unintended digital distractions today? Add them up! You may be shocked!
