The perils of digital distraction
Although practical realities of the modern day mean most of us deal with multiple streams of information, recent research from the University of Utah suggests that fewer than 3 percent of us do so without impairing our productivity.
"Supertaskers" multitask with no loss of performance
The research, which tested single- and dual-task performance while driving and talking on a cell phone, identified a small group of "supertaskers" who "showed absolutely no performance decrements ..." For everyone else, performance in one or both tasks was significantly decreased. This small group's true multitasking abilities represented just 2.5 percent of participants. To be considered a "supertasker," they had to complete the single tasks in the upper quartile and meet stringent criteria on loss of performance. Surprisingly, those who qualified performed better on the dual-task test than they did on the individual tasks.
Most frequent multitaskers are less productive
Other research has consistently shown that those who use multiple media streams get less done and perform individual tasks slower and with less precision. Eyal Ophir at Stanford in 2004 added to the body of evidence suggesting for the majority, multitasking was reducing productivity rather than enhancing it.
Subjects completed two short tests, one measuring our ability to filter out distractions and one testing reaction times when switching between tasks. The participants were designated "heavy" or "light" multitaskers based on their habitual use of technology. The heavy multitaskers performed significantly worse in both tests, suggesting they had more difficulty filtering out irrelevant data and were "less efficient at juggling problems," according to Matt Richtel of the New York Times.
One summary of research by the American Psychological Association suggests that "even brief mental blocks created by shifting between tasks can cost as much as 40 percent of someone's productive time."
Frequent multitasking alters personality
Issues of productivity aren't the only cause for concern. Many researchers believe that how we use technology could be having adverse effects on our personalities and personal relationships.
Dependence on technology and particularly the Internet is a growing concern. A 2009 study at the University of Melbourne found that 9.5 percent of students quizzed were in the "at-risk" category for "Internet dependence." Research into the effects of technology withdrawal at the University of Maryland revealed how some students' personal relationships were bound to technology, with one student commenting, "I felt quite alone and secluded from my life ... the fact that I was not able to communicate with anyone via technology was almost unbearable."
Dr. Elais Aboujaoude of Sandford University believes that our interactions with the Internet are changing who we are. He questions the implications for our ability to create and retain new memories when we store everything online, asking, "If you can't forget because all this stuff is staring at you, what does that do to your ability to lay down new memories?"
Not all changes are bad, though
Steven Pinker, professor of psychology at Harvard, states in "Mind Over Mass Media" that much of the concern is a "moral panic" similar to that stimulated by the printing press or television and that it "fails basic reality checks." He points to the technological dependency of many scientists who "are never far from their e-mail, rarely touch paper and cannot lecture without PowerPoint." He argues that if technology were causing us to be less intelligent, science would be in decline, and yet "discoveries are multiplying like fruit flies, and progress is dizzying."
He is also dismissive of fears that use of technology changes the brain, commenting that "every time we learn a fact or skill, the wiring of the brain changes." Since studies have shown that changes in the brain have effects limited to activities similar to each other, he argues that the effects of digital distractions are "likely to be far more limited than the panic implies."
While Pinker does not disregard the "distracting or addictive" nature of technology, his advice for those suffering from digital distraction is both brief and refreshing. "The solution is not to bemoan technology but to develop strategies of self-control, as we do with every other temptation in life." He says, "Turn off e-mail or Twitter when you work, put away your Blackberry at dinnertime, ask your spouse to call you to bed at a designated hour."
