Deluded Media Multitaskers

It is clear from reading Annie Paul's essay "Media multi-taskers are "deluded" that the current generation of students is seriously endangered by students' propensity to multitask while learning (Paul, 2013; Sin & Kim, 2014). Within fifteen minutes of entering the classroom, today's students switch their focus from crucial coursework tasks to reading their Facebook feeds or replying to texts. Furthermore, it is astounding how well-versed pupils are at multitasking, even when they are aware that someone is monitoring them . According to evidence from cognitive science, psychology, and neuroscience, when students engage in multitasking while studying, the learning process becomes shallower than if they concentrated fully (Delello, Reichard, & Mikhtari, 2016; Mathew, 2015; Paul, 2013). That is because multitasking makes students understand little and remember less. Besides, multitasking makes it difficult for students to transfer what they have learned to new contexts (Delello, Reichard, & Mikhtari, 2016; Paul, 2013; Sin & Kim, 2014).

From the article, I think the admission of laptops, cellphones, tablets, and other digital devices into classrooms makes it difficult differentiate between their approved and illegal uses by the students. It, therefore, poses a great problem in the learning process since operating such devices utilizes the same mental resources required by schoolwork (Krasilnikov & Smirnova, 2017; Paul, 2013).

In overall, multitasking among students is so detrimental that it may paralyze the learning process in schools if not addressed properly. That is because it is distractive, causes mental fatigue, impairs students’ memory, leads to inefficient use of study information, and negatively impacts the students’ academic performance.

References

Delello, J., Reichard, C., & Mokhtari, K. (2016). Multitasking Among College Students. International Journal of Cyber Behavior, Psychology, and Learning, 6(4), 1-12.

Krasilnikov, A., & Smirnova, A. (2017). Online social adaptation of first-year students and their academic performance. Computers & Education, 113, 327-338.

Mathew, L. (2015). The Effect of Multitasking and Grade Performance of Undergraduate Nursing Students. Oalib, 02(11), 1-4.

Paul, A. (2013). Media multi-taskers are “deluded”. Winnipeg Free Press, 1-6. Retrieved from https://retsd.mb.ca/school/ra/Documents%20and%20Forms/WFP-MultitaskingAndLearning.pdf

Sin, S., & Kim, K. (2014). Impacts of social media usage on the outcomes of students’ everyday life information seeking. Proceedings of The American Society for Information Science and Technology, 51(1), 1-4.