In the article “ Multitasking Can Make You Lose… Um… Focus” author Alina Tugend presents various problems on how multitasking can hurt you rather than help you. Edward Hallowell argues “you have to keep in mind that you sacrifice focus when you do this” (Hallowell) while multitasking between talking on the phone and doing laundry disturbs and interrupts your focus on the conversation you’re having on the phone. In Alina Tugend’s article “ Multitasking Can Make You Lose… Um… Focus” shows the disparate reasons on how multitasking does not always help you but can rather hurt you. A study by the RAC foundation found the reaction was 35 percent slower when writing a text message slower than driving drunk or stoned. Alina argues that while multitasking…
It is an illusion that multitasking helps us do different things simultaneously where in fact we are sacrificing focus.…
In the article “Hooked on Gadgets and Paying a Mental Price” by Matt Richtel, we learn about the effects of being consumed by technology as well as multitasking. In the article, Richtel provides us with a real life example of the Campbell’s, and how Mr. Campbell’s addiction almost cost him a lucrative contract for his startup company. Also, we learn about how he could not even enjoy a family vacation without having his technological fix. Richtel also gives us hard scientific facts about the effects of technology and multitasking, such as the fact that multitaskers are less likely to be able to sort out irrelevant information and that multitaskers do worse when trying to juggle between tasks.…
My thoughts on multitasking is that it’s not easy. I feel that you have to train yourself to become a descent multi-tasker. While driving, I would be seeing eating and talking on the cell phone, now in the case of studying, as I mentioned earlier I would need complete silence. The slightest noise would distract me, for instance, at the moment my fiancé is studying to be a pharmacy technician and I can hear her typing away at her keyboard, on the computer which is a huge distraction for me. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to rewrite this paragraph.…
Multitasking can be beneficial or just a waste of time. In “How (and Why) to Stop Multitasking Peter Bregman and “In Defense of Multitasking” David Silverman, both bloggers explain their points of view on multitasking. Bregman explains the reasons why multitasking is bad “I will not deny that single-minded devotion often produces high quality. Nor will I attempt to join the misguided (and scientifically discredited) many who say “Yeah, other people can’t do it, but I am super awesome at doing ten things at once” (656) he explained. Silverman strongly believes that as human beings we have the habit of always trying to do as many tasks or get more time out of a 24 hour day.…
I have always had this idea that me being a mono-tasker makes me seem less intelligent than your average texting-and-driving, tweeting-and-doing homework multitaskers. However, after watching the short videos, and the PBS documentary, I am reassured that multitasking is not always a good skill to have, not when you're doing something that requires cognitive skills and physical effort (math, writing, studying, driving).…
In today’s world, are their any viable options to multitasking? We have become quite adept at juggling projects, emails, phone calls, and social media in our daily lives. Much research has been conducted, and many studies have come to the conclusion that multitasking lessens one’s overall effectiveness. David Silverman, in his essay “In Defense of Multitasking” presents and opposing side to this contention. Silverman, a Harvard Business Review blogger, goes so far as to likening our seemingly primal need to multitask to our necessity to breathe air (539). While it may not prove to be as vital as oxygen, Silverman demonstrates how crucial it is for the workplace.…
Multitasking is working on multiple things at one time. Researchers say that when a person works on one thing at a time, also known as monotasking, the two frontal lobe's work together for this one task, but when there are two tasks each frontal lobe works…
According to Alina Tugend in the article “Multitasking Can Make You Lose” people are more prone to doing multiple things at once. Although multitasking may seem to preserve more time, according to many studies will produce less effective results.…
Multi-tasking is “bad for the quality of cognitive work” which lead to a declaration of memory. A study of Stanford reports that multi-taskers cannot focus on subject. They believe they are improving their ability but actually lessening their ability “through over consumption”. A report found on the article claims that “the multitasking on a laptop poses a significant distraction to both users and fellow students and can be detrimental to comprehension of lecture content”: people who multi-tasks have lower grade. As a result, people are decreasing their ability while having a laptop during…
I too have succumbed to multitasking. I usually have the television playing because I feel as if I need the background noises but then I soon realize that I am concentrating more on the television. When I, or anybody else, try to handle too many activities at once they will become stressed and then they will start to mentally shut down, being unable to finish either task efficiently. I agree with the author in the first article that if we multitask that we will be more likely to do it again. It is like a drug for us because we are so used to trying to do more than we should, that we will continue to do so even if we try to avoid it. Annie Murphy Paul added towards the end of her article about taking tech breaks. I believe this is a great solution to the obstacle of multitasking. Students should take their time to put more into their study efforts so they can reflect on it and learn more, and then take a break to relax and to text to their heart…
Multitasking is something that most teens do in their everyday life. Whether it is during studying time, hangout time, or even family time, teens tend to engage in multiple tasks at the same time. Rebecca A. Clay, the author of Mini-Multitaskers, also agrees with this concept. Her overall main point throughout the article is that Multitasking prevents teens form learning and retaining information. In the article, it is made evident of where she stands. Clay makes it blatantly obvious that she feels as though multitasking has a negative effect on the brain as well as the learning development. Clay uses statistics such as “…According to a 2006 Kaiser Family Foundation…
Tugend believes that multitasking does not mean doing several things while simultaneously tasking. People can and should train themselves to have a longer attention span and focus on a longer task. Society believes that technology and busy lives demand and facilitate multitasking. Attention span…
Multitasking in my opinion can be a good thing but also a bad thing. Researchers say many teens and children under the age 18 are more likely to multitask compared to mature adults. Technology has been the cause of young teens not paying full attention. Teenagers feel that they will miss out on important information so this messes with teen’s concentration. The brain cannot be at two places at one time. “Not only can people not process two tasks simultaneously, but it also takes longer to multitask than it would to do the individual tasks one after the other”, according to Steven G. Yantis. When a person tries to the do two things that require critical thinking and decision making, a delay is at the second task. When people multitask they are the ones that tend to forget or not remember what was done and get distracted easily.…
Throughout the day, people constantly find themselves starting, stopping and finishing many different cognitive tasks. This study was conducted to discover the effect that task switching has on performance. Thirty eight students participated in this experiment. They were asked to complete both repeating and switching tasks. The 100 total tasks were fully randomized with 50 task repeating and 50 task switching. It was hypothesized that when a participant will be asked to switch a task over repeating one, he or she will be significantly slower in reacting. The collected data revealed that in fact, the reaction time for task switching trials was significantly higher than for repeating ones. These findings supported the hypothesis. One can conclude from here that when one switches between cognitive tasks they can expect themselves to perform less than optimally then when they repeat the same task over and over.…