A Theory of Media Multitasking Intensity

Media multitasking in adolescence.

Media use has been on the rise in adolescents overall, and in particular, the amount of media multitasking-multiple media consumed simultaneously, such as having a text message conversation while watching TV-has been increasing. In adults, heavy media multitasking has been linked with poorer performance on a number of laboratory measures of cognition, but no relationship has yet been establishe...

The impact of media multitasking on learning

Does media multitasking always hurt? A positive correlation between multitasking and multisensory integration.

Heavy media multitaskers have been found to perform poorly in certain cognitive tasks involving task switching, selective attention, and working memory. An account for this is that with a breadth-biased style of cognitive control, multitaskers tend to pay attention to various information available in the environment, without sufficient focus on the information most relevant to the task at hand....

Mobile Media Use, Multitasking and Distractibility

Portable media devices are ubiquitous and their use has become a core component of many people’s daily experience, but to what effect? In this paper, the authors review research on the ways in which media use and multitasking relate to distraction, distractibility and impulsivity. They review recent research on the effects of media multitasking on driving, walking, work, and academic performanc...

A Null Relationship between Media Multitasking and Well-Being

There is a rapidly increasing trend in media-media multitasking or MMM (using two or more media concurrently). In a recent conference, scholars from diverse disciplines expressed concerns that indulgence in MMM may compromise well-being and/or cognitive abilities. However, research on MMM's impacts is too sparse to inform the general public and policy makers whether MMM should be encouraged, ma...