Analysis Of Steven Pinker's Article Mind Over Mass Media

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In Steven Pinker’s article, “Mind Over Mass Media,” he argues against the statement that “new form of media have always caused moral panics” (Seyler). He provides examples of high functioning, intelligent people that use media daily and show that it is necessary to their work. Distraction is not a new problem. People need to turn off their phones, or close windows on their computers, so that they can focus and work on self-control around media. Studies have shown that the brain cannot do more than one cognitive task at a time. People who multitask actually switch tasks quickly, which is taxing to the brain. Also, people who complete one task at a time out-perform those who multitask. Therefore, it is not possible to multitask as it …show more content…

Not surprisingly, texting and driving is one dangerous example of people trying to multitask. Those who think they are excellent at multitasking might ignore the laws in place that attempt to prevent texting and driving, but “26% of all car crashes in 2014 involved cell phone use” (“Texting & Driving”). Mautz mentions that texting and driving is “the equivalent of driving with a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit.” While driving, the brain needs to be focused on so many different tasks, such as other cars, traffic lights, pedestrians, and even its own passengers. Texting while driving involves visual, manual, and cognitive distractions. Driving is already a taxing event for the brain, so forcing the brain focus on an incoming text instead of the road is not only foolish, but dangerous to yourself and other drivers. This news that humans are actually not talented with multitasking should come as no surprise, however, there are many people who attempt to refute this. There are numerous studies that show people who think they are multitasking are “task-switching” which is focusing on one task and moving back and forth between the two quickly (Mautz). What this does is overstimulate the brain. Instead of focusing on one task and completing it well, people try to do multiple tasks at the same time. Starting and stopping each task is not easy on the brain. Recent neuroscience research states

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