Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The effects of technology on our lives
The effects of technology on our lives
The effects of technology on our lives
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The effects of technology on our lives
To Multitask or Not to Multitask? That is the Question Today, most students find that multitasking helps them complete multiple tasks faster. They think that being able to do more than one thing at a time is beneficial and effective when it comes to completing demanding tasks like homework and classwork. Little do they know, multitasking actually makes people less productive, and it results in decreases in people’s attention span, performance, and most importantly, learning. While multitasking may be helpful for some individuals in completing simple tasks, multitasking is not beneficial in aiding individuals complete more demanding and specific tasks. When it comes to completing more challenging tasks, multitasking is not beneficial in helping …show more content…
In other words, when kids multitask, the information that is gathered is not always comprehended or stored properly by the brain. As a result, this proves that the multitasking is not always helpful because of how it affects the brain in a negative way. From another article titled “Positives from Multitasking”, it says “Research has demonstrated multitasking can cause impairments during certain cognitive tasks” (Nauert 2). This means that when a person multitasks, the brain cannot perform certain tasks properly which can lead to the brain not being able to comprehend the information being gathered and it can, ultimately, hinder the student from completing that specific task. This is another reason why multitasking is not effective in helping students since it stops the brain from working properly. Despite the fact that research has proven that multitasking overall is not beneficial, some students still believe that it is helpful. According to the article “Positives from Multitasking” research has proven otherwise, “The new study by gradate students Kelvin …show more content…
For instance in the online article, “Students Think They Can Multitask. Here’s Proof They Can’t,” an experiment was conducted to see how multitasking impacted how long it took students to read a passage. In the article it says, “The group that used instant messaging while they read took between 22 and 59% longer to read the passage than other students” (Weimer 3). This means that when students multitasked, they were slowed down, which is the opposite of what multitasking is supposed to do. This also proves that multitasking is not helpful when it comes to students completing their everyday classwork because it greatly slows them down, which could problem for students considering most assignments are timed. Also, from the same online article it says, “In an experiment involving 62 undergraduate students taking a principles of accounting course, half were allowed to text during the lecture and the half had their phone turned off. After the lecture both groups took the same quiz and the students who did not text scored significantly higher on the quiz” (Weimer 2). This means that the students who multitasked received lower grades merely because of the fact that they multitasked. This proves that multitasking negatively impacts students because the students who received a lower grade are the ones who multitasked. This shows that when students multitask, they are not retaining the
While reading through the article, I noticed that the loss of focus she spoke of was happening in my life. I agree that we as a society are trying to become more productive, but multitasking is not the way to go. Tugend mentions that the human brain cannot efficiently handle doing multiple things at once (716). I see this in my daily life when trying to carry two or more items while trying to talk on the phone, it usually ends in disaster. However, multitasking is productive in some ways such as listening to classical music while studying. Tugend does a great job at getting personal with the reader; she uses situations that everyone has been through. Throughout the article, Tugend kept me entertained by switching between a casual and informational
Students may easily lose their attention and concentration with easy access to such incredibly rich store of information. With such new technologies as television, internet and social networks, people nowadays tend to multitask more often as they have easy access to a large amount of information. However, such easy access may sometimes be a distraction. Study “Your Brain on Computers” reports that heavy multitaskers perform up to 20% worse on most tests compared to performance of light multitaskers. Working efficiency of people, who multitask, is claimed to be significantly lower. The same is with concentration. (Crovitz 353) As a result, they are not engaged in working process. Students tend to be easily distr...
In the chapter “Attention Deficit: The Brain Syndrome of Our Era,” from The New Brain, written by Richard Restak, Restak makes some very good points on his view of multitasking and modern technology. He argues that multitasking is very inefficient and that our modern technology is making our minds weaker. Multitasking and modern technology is causing people to care too much what other people think of them, to not be able to focus on one topic, and to not be able to think for themselves.
In the article,“Multitasking is actually kind of a problem for kids and adults” by Hayley Tsukayama the author went into detail about how parents and their children view their personal media habits. One of the ways that the parents and children viewed their media habits as was feeling the need to respond to texts and notifications immediately. “More than 1,200 parents and teens surveyed, 48 percent of parents and 72 percent of teens said they felt the need to respond to texts and notifications immediately, almost guaranteeing distractions throughout the day” (Tsukayama). This article can be connected to “The Epidemic of Media Multitasking While Learning” both of the articles discussed the different factors of media multitasking among individuals. The article from The Washington Post website gave great insight on multitasking and rather it is bad for students when it comes to learning. I believe that the issue being discussed is very relevant because if students are easily distracted by technology while in their learning environment it results in them not learning
Today we live in a society where everything is seconds away from us. With the advances and affordability of quality technology, you would be hard pressed to find someone without a smartphone, laptop, or tablet, possibly all at the same time. Because of the accessibility we find that, in our tech-savvy culture, multitasking has not just become an art form of sorts, but rather an expectation. In the article “Multitasking Can Make You Lose…Um…Focus,” Alina Tugend sets out to explore the idea that although multitasking appears to show productivity, it could be doing the opposite. Throughout her article, Tugend uses studies done by neurologists and psychologists to show how in a world that sees multitasking as an expectation it has actually made us less efficient. She proposes, through studies, that although you might be working on multiple tasks it is as if you’re playing tennis with multiple balls (Tugend, 725).
Though there are some positive effects, the adverse impact of technology on education has been extraordinary. The technology community has worked hard to bring useful technology into our classrooms, all with good intentions to broaden our knowledge. With these good intentions also came about unwanted side effects such as distraction and disruption in the classroom. I can clearly remember many of my teachers yelling at us to put our cell phones, iPods, and iTouch phones away especially during lecture and exams. The yelling was not without just cause, students cheated with their devices along with updating their Facebook pages during class too.
Many would remark that multitasking is a skill that can be trained like all others. However, a lot of neuroscience has went into proving that multitasking is a myth altogether. The article “The Myth of Multitasking” is written by Nancy K. Napier for Psychology today is here to debunk the myth of the brain’s capability to multitask. The article states that the brain is incapable of doing two things at once. Instead, the way that we fool ourselves into thinking that we can multitask is how quickly our brain switches from one task to another. Our brains can’t perform tasks simultaneously as our focus is a narrow beam. So, to compensate for this, our brain switches between these two tasks very quickly, almost as if we are doing them at the same
Multitasking requires that a worker divides his/her time and energy on multiple tasks at the same time. As a result, the care and attention to detail is divided. The amount of focus that could be used to review one assignment is split. In an experiment, Patterson (2017) discovered that students who studied while participating in media multitasking took longer to complete tasks in their classes. This experiment addresses media multitasking in the case of students. While it is not a type of multitasking we normally consider, it does involve performing multiple tasks at one. Instead of putting all of their focus on their assignments, these students’ attention is on the assignment and on their social media. The results of the experiment prove that it when placed in scenarios where people are required to focus on multiple things, it takes more time to complete certain tasks. In this instance, media multitasking caused a decrease in performance. In another experiment, Paridon and Kaufmann (2010) made an observation when studying multitasking in the workplace, stating that people’s reaction time diminished when multiple tasks were completed at once. The believe that multitasking affects people’s performance has also been proven to be true in the workplace, as the speed of people’s production when down when required to complete multiple tasks. Performance can be determined by the speed in which a task is completed.
As a college student, using the internet and technology is a daily task. Everything you need for your classes: schedules, homework, quizzes, even tests are all online. The debate on technology and the brain suggests that technology may have an effect on brain, effect multi-tasking, and cause addiction.
Due to the nature of this study, two separate, different, experiments were done with two mutually exclusive groups of participants. These experiments were based off of two key hypotheses. The first being that these researchers wanted to replicate a previous study performed on this topic, but in a more controlled manner (Sana, et. al., 2013). The second hypothesis that these researchers desired to test was how the multitasking of a classmate would indirectly affect a student’s learning ability (Sana, et. al., 2013). In their studies the researchers used the manipulation of either using a laptop to strictly take notes or to use the laptop and complete tasks while taking notes as the independent variable. The dependent variable for this study was measuring the student’s comprehension of the lecture material presented.
Pinker’s argument contains some faulty logic such as suggesting a questionable correlation between the popularity of television and rising I.Q. scores and citing anecdotal evidence about the failure of multitasking rather than facts. Indeed, he mentions a study on multitasking, but fails to cite it, which lends false credibility to his argument. However, some points of Pinker’s thesis can be supported despite his rhetoric. Both Adam Gopnik’s article, “How the Internet Gets inside Us” and Robert Darnton’s “The Library in the New Age” can support Pinker’s idea that technological advances are not necessarily harmful.
Multitasking with non-course material results in a student’s attention being diverted from the course material that is being taught. This can result in errors in memory for the student and also a more difficult time learning the information outside of the classroom (Kraushaar & Novak, 2010, p.1). The University of Vermont completed a study in order to determine the impacts of multitasking with a laptop during a university lecture. Through the experiment they were able to determine that “students with a high [and long] frequency of software multitasking during lectures will exhibit lower academic performance than students with a low [and short] frequency of software multitasking” (Kraushaar & Novak, 2010, p.6). This shows that repeated and lengthy multitasking with technology in particular laptops during lecture times can cause extremely negative results in a students academic performances and
According to The Dangers of Multitasking, the downsides of multitasking outweigh the upsides (Davies 39). Multitasking students can miss many of the necessary information that they really need to pass tests and understand lessons when they multitask during the lectures, which causes them to get a low grade on their tests. “Many experienced multitaskers have experienced an unexpected thing when, for example, their e-mail service was disabled for a period of time. They discovered that they were actually more productive during that period of time” (Multitasking 758). That means that multitaskers are more productive when they concentrate on one task; so students will do better on tests and in school in general, if they quit or cut back on multitasking during classes.
Educators debate whether performing multiple tasks is distracting when students are doing homework. It is too distracting for high school students to divide their attention amongst several activities when they are working on homework. Teenagers, who multitask while doing homework, are limiting their concentration capabilities, are unable to fully comprehend what they are studying, and the efficiency of their work decreases. Personally, I have tried multitasking while doing homework and I can not focus at all.
“Students can 't resist distraction for two minutes ... and neither can you”. I read it thoroughly and came across a few quotes. “People who are interrupted by technology score 20 percent lower on a standard cognition test” (par 1 Sullivan). This is a big problem in today’s schools, many students have the technology at their disposal. Students in school tend to check their phones one every 3 minutes on average. This is extreme, how are students able to learn and analyze problems in front of them if they are being distracted this often? They are not able to, this is why the average of kids being distracted by their cell phones scores twenty points lower on a standardized test. Many students try to multitask their time on social media and other distracting things, but much of the time it still doesn’t work. To summarize a paragraph that I read; there is no such thing as multi-tasking,