The Consequences And Effects Of Muutli-Tasking

This article discusses the distractions and effects of mutli-tasking and using our electronic devices constantly. "Multitasking is never a good idea if you really need to get something done" (p. 26). When we get a text message or look at our phones an addictive chemical called dopamine is released into our brains. Laptops, mobile devices, and interruptions hinder our learning and focus. Although technology can be very helpful, it has caused many negative situations such as car accidents, poor grades, and bullying.
Technology plays a distracting and important role in today’s society. We can’t live with it and we can’t live without it. While using electronics our focus is completely on the device. As humans, we do not multi task, we switch back

and forth. Switching back and forth causes us to perform insufficiently on both tasks. "Selecting one sharp focus requires inhibiting a multitude of others. The mind has to fight off the pull of everything else, sorting out what's important from what's irrelevant. That takes cognitive effort" (p. 56). I find it easier to work on one subject of homework and hopping to the next rather than trying to do both at the same time. "Multitasking is never a good idea if you really need to get something done" (p. 26).
There was a study where college students who didn’t have laptops in class did better than those who had them with them in class (Fried, 2008). Our devices are considered addicting because of the dopamine released to our brain while we use them. In conclusion, using our phones and devices can turn into a habit/addiction. In some places it is such a problem that they have created counseling agencies and rehab clinics for the addicted technology users.
Accepting that electronics will always be around and improving, can help create solutions to monitoring the use of technology that in time can help the distracted population. For example, writing notes versus using a laptop to type your notes is a better way to retain the information. Mueller & Oppenheimer, concluded that taking pencil-and-paper notes supports better learning and comprehension than typing notes into a laptop. Writing by hand requires more summarizing and engaging with what is being presented. When taking notes on a laptop we fall into a pattern of recording what we're hearing verbatim versus understanding it.
Researchers did an experiment to see the time it took after an interruption to return to, and complete the task at hand. They did this by asking college students to use a computer game. The average interval between players' actions in the game was about two seconds. After returning to the task after a brief interruption, the gap doubled to four seconds. Limitations of this study might be the cause of distraction, was it the same for every person? Do different distractions cause longer gaps?
Science and technology have helped humans achieve a lot of progress. Science interacts with technology because most scientists use some form of technology and some scientists study the effects of technology. Science and technology work together to us devices and machines to make our life comfortable and make our work easier. In spite of so much progress in science and technology people do not have time for the real world. We are still focused on our small devices in our hands and not the world around us.