If you do, that might mean you suck at it.
Although we hear all the time that women are better at multitasking than men, a new study says that regardless of gender, media multitaskers (those who simultaneously use their computers, watch TV or text on their phones, for example) aren't as good at doing several things at once as they think they are.
The study was initiated when researchers asked themselves what it was about "high multitaskers" that allowed them to do what they do so well. But in experiments designed to test the two groups’ attention and memories, the group that defined themselves as consumers of multiple media did worse than the lower multitaskers. Ironically, it was the low multitaskers who were convinced they weren't going to be good at doing several things at once.
"The shocking discovery of this research," says Professor Clifford Nass of Stanford, "is that high multitaskers are lousy at everything that's necessary for multitasking." Now researchers want to know whether or not it's people with low multitasking skills who are drawn to multitasking, or if perhaps their jobs dull their ability to be good at it.
Do you think you're good at media multitasking?
Ben Sherman
Paul & Joe
APC
No, and it's not something I want to be good at.
1Yeah, I think I am. I often watch tv with my laptop in front of me and text at the same time.
2media multitasking is my middle name. lol
3No. I prefer to do one thing at a time and do it well. If you're on the phone and writing an email, you can come across as an idiot because it's hard to write things with substance and say different things with substance at the same time.
4i think our generation is better than the previous one because we've grown up multitasking... and yes, i am pretty good at it, otherwise i'd have been fired by now for the amount of time i spend on here
5I have to be. My job requires it. Sometimes I really wish I could just do one thing at a time though.
6Multitasking is a Myth
When most people refer to multitasking they mean simultaneously performing two or more things that require mental effort and attention.
When we speak of multitasking, what we really mean is that we are switchtasking: switching rapidly between one task and another. Yet, each time we switch, no matter how quickly that switch takes place in our mind, there is a cost associated with it. It's an economic term called switching cost—and the switching cost is high.
When you switchtask when dealing with a computer, you simply lose efficiency. But if you switchtask on a human being, you additionally damage a relationship.
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