According to Clifford Nass, a Professor at Stanford University, less might be more when it comes to digital doing. One study looking at the habits of heavy media multi-taskers found people who multi-task the most are frequently the worst at it. Moreover, heavy multi-tasking may be harming our thinking ability, especially deep thinking and analysis.

This applies to people who deal with multiple streams of unrelated information. For example, people who use multiple windows on computers, many applications on smart phones, or who use more than one screen at once at home or in the office.

Heavy multi-taskers lose the ability to ignore irrelevant data. In other words, they are suckers for distraction and become bored when they are not constantly stimulated with new things. You can see this for yourself with anyone aged under 25, but the real problem is that other generations are having multi-tasking forced upon them.

This is not the same as saying that nobody can multi-task at all. The study is suggesting that heavy multi-taskers are potentially damaging their higher-level brain functions and this could become a multi-generational problem in the years ahead. The co-authors of the study, Eyal Ophir and Anthony Wagner, also say that heavy multi-taskers are among the slowest at switching from one task to another, which is quite the opposite to what you might expect.

Watch out soon for more stories about the multi-tasking myth, internet addiction, the erosion of empathy and the perils of reading important information online.

Ref: Various including: National Public Radio (US), 28 August 2009, Multi-tasking may not mean higher productivity’, P. Raeburn. www.npr.org
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Search terms: multi-tasking, brain function, irrelevance, screens

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