While multitasking has become a way of life for young people today, it can also be a distraction when it comes to schoolwork, according to several AU students.
Multitasking affects the brain's learning systems, which results in people being unable to learn when distracted, according to University of California Los Angeles psychologists on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences' Web site.
Russell Poldrack, a UCLA associate professor of psychology and co-author of a recent study on the effects of multitasking on the brain, said while multitasking, one's learning is less flexible and more specialized, making it more difficult to retrieve the information, according to the UCLA Web site.
"The best thing you can do to improve your memory is to pay attention to the things you want to remember," Poldrack said on the UCLA Web site.
Kim Steinle, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she multitasks sometimes but cannot read or study while doing anything else.
"It really depends on what I'm doing," Steinle said. "While I'm cleaning, I need to listen to music to keep from getting bored or else I will give up."
Derek Torrey, a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs, said that he multitasks "all the time."
"My parents don't understand how I can concentrate on so many things at once," Torrey said. "But for me, it's just normal."
Not all experts said they believe multitasking is harmful.
David Meyer, director of the Brain, Cognition and Action Laboratory at the University of Michigan, is a psychologist and cognitive scientist who studies multitasking. He said people who grow up multitasking may develop different coping styles that would "allow them to perform better in future environments where required to do a lot," according to The Washington Post.
Tyler Budde, a freshman in the School of Communication and CAS, said he avoids multitasking altogether, and said he thinks people could learn better if they multitasked less.
"If I do too many things at once, I lose focus on one thing and start making mistakes," Budde said.
There is added concern for teenagers because parts of their brain are still developing, said Jordan Grafman, the chief of cognitive neuroscience at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, The Post reported.
"In general, I can multitask while doing almost anything," Torrey said. "But in class, while I am on my computer, I think it takes away from my concentration slightly."
Patti Lewis, a marketing professor, does not allow her students to use laptops during class. She said in the past she observed how e-mail, instant messages and Web sites such as Facebook easily distracted students.
"When your attention is grabbed away from the task at hand, that's not multitasking," said Lewis. "That's just a distraction."
Lewis said the business world is seeing a decrease in productivity as a result of people being distracted by their personal lives while at work.
However, Torrey said multitasking is sometimes a requirement.
"There's just not enough time in the day to do everything," Torrey said.
