Multitasking Among College Students: Are Freshmen More Distracted?

Using a time-diary, the authors asked 935 undergraduate college students to report on their multitasking habits while engaged in four main activities: reading for fun, watching TV, reading for school purposes, and using the Internet. The authors examined student data to find out (a) whether their multi-tasking habits vary significantly by college classification and (b) whether they felt the time spent multitasking in one activity interfered with or displaced time spent on other activities. It was found that first year college freshmen multitasked significantly more than upper class students. However, students’ perceptions relative to whether they felt the time spent multitasking in one activity interfered with or displaced time spent on other activities did not significantly differ by college classification. These findings have important implications for understanding the multitasking habits among college students. KeywoRDS Classification, College Students, Distraction, Freshmen, Internet Use, Multitasking