Media multitasking

For other uses, see Multitasking (disambiguation).
A person using a smartphone while sitting at a computer

Media multitasking is the concurrent use of multiple digital media streams. Media multitasking has been associated with depressive symptoms and social anxiety by a study involving 318 participants.[1] A 2018 review found that while the literature is sparse and inconclusive, people who do a heavy amount of media multitasking have worse performance in several cognitive domains.[2][3] One of the authors commented that while the data does not "unambiguously show that media multitasking causes a change in attention and memory," media multitasking is an inefficient practice that requires "task switching" costs including "limitations in auditory and visual processing".[4][5][6]

In many cases, media multitasking is made up of experiences that are not necessarily intended to be combined or coordinated. For example, a user may be browsing the Web, listening to music, playing video games, using e-mail, and/or talking on the phone while watching TV.[7] More intentionally coordinated forms of media multitasking are emerging in the form of "co-active media" and particularly "co-active TV".

  1. ^ Becker, Mark W.; Alzahabi, Reem; Hopwood, Christopher J. (2012-11-05). "Media Multitasking Is Associated with Symptoms of Depression and Social Anxiety". Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. 16 (2): 132–135. doi:10.1089/cyber.2012.0291. ISSN 2152-2715. PMID 23126438. S2CID 15469576.
  2. ^ Uncapher, Melina R.; Wagner, Anthony D. (December 2, 2018). "Minds and brains of media multitaskers: Current findings and future directions". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 115 (40): 9889–9896. Bibcode:2018PNAS..115.9889U. doi:10.1073/pnas.1611612115. ISSN 1091-6490. PMC 6176627. PMID 30275312.
  3. ^ Wolfsteiner, Elisabeth; Garaus, Marion (2023-06-01). "When attention-grabbing tactics backfire during media multitasking: The detrimental effect of atypical advertising slogans on brand attitude". Telematics and Informatics. 81: 101981. doi:10.1016/j.tele.2023.101981. ISSN 0736-5853.
  4. ^ Lau, Wilfred W. F. (2017-03-01). "Effects of social media usage and social media multitasking on the academic performance of university students". Computers in Human Behavior. 68: 286–291. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2016.11.043. ISSN 0747-5632.
  5. ^ Wolfsteiner, Elisabeth; Garaus, Marion (2023-06-01). "When attention-grabbing tactics backfire during media multitasking: The detrimental effect of atypical advertising slogans on brand attitude". Telematics and Informatics. 81: 101981. doi:10.1016/j.tele.2023.101981. ISSN 0736-5853.
  6. ^ Huber, Jennifer (2018-10-29). "How does media multitasking affect the mind?". Scope. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  7. ^ Wallis, Claudia (March 2006). "genM: The Multitasking Generation". Time Magazine. Archived from the original on June 14, 2006. Retrieved 15 May 2011.