For other uses, see multitasking (disambiguation)

Multitasking

Multitasking may refer to any of the following:*Computer multitasking - the apparent simultaneous performance of two or more tasks by a computer's central processing unit...

Media multitasking involves using TV, the Web, radio

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

, telephone

Telephone

The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...

, print

Printing

Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....

, or any other media

Mass media

Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...

 in conjunction with another. Also referred to as "simultaneous media use," this behavior has emerged as increasingly common, especicially among younger media users, and has gained significant attention in media usage measurement, especially as a new opportunity for cross-media advertising..

The expression second screen

Second screen

Second Screen is a new expression which describes, in the broadcasting industry, the use of a smartphone, tablet computer or computer that audiences use while watching television.- Multi-tasking :...

is used in conjunction with media multitasking.

Much of this multitasking is not inherently coupled or coordinated except by the user. For example a user may be browsing the Web, using e-mail, or talking on the phone while watching TV. More directly coordinated forms of media multitasking are emerging in the form of "coactive media" and particularly "coactive TV."

Research

A touchstone 2009 study by Stanford University published in PNAS: Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, “Cognitive control in media multitaskers,” used experiments to compare heavy media multitaskers to light media multitaskers in terms of their cognitive control and ability to process information. Findings from the experiment include: 1) When intentionally distracting elements were added to experiments, heavy media multitaskers were on average 77 milliseconds slower than their light media multitasker counterparts at identifying changes in patterns; 2) In a longer-term memory test that invited participants to recall specific elements from earlier experiments, the high media multitaskers more often falsely identified the elements that had been used most frequently as intentional distracters; 3) In the presence of distracting elements, high media multitaskers were 426 milliseconds slower than their counterparts to switch to new activities and 259 milliseconds slower to engage in a new section of the same activity. The researchers conclude that the experiments “suggest that heavy media multitaskers are distracted by the multiple streams of media they are consuming, or, alternatively, that those who infrequently multitask are more effective at volitionally allocating their attention in the face of distractions.”

A related article, "Breadth-biased versus focused cognitive control in media multitasking behaviors," also published in PNAS: Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, notes that the prevalence of this phenomenon leads "to a question about the required skills and expertise to function in society. Society with its ever-increasing complexity seems to move people toward juggling among multiple tasks rather than focusing on one task for a long period." Further research, the study's author suggests, will be necessary as the effects on society become more pronounced: "The new technologies are gearing people, especially young people who grow up with digital technologies and wired networks, toward breadth-biased information processing behavior rather than linear in-depth study behavior. A long-term exposure to media multitasking is expected to produce both positive and negative outcomes on cognitive, emotional, and social development."