"[T]here is no such thing as multitasking -- at least not the way you may think of it. The fact is that multitasking, as most people understand it, is a myth that has been promulgated by the 'technological-industrial complex' to make overly scheduled and stressed-out people feel productive and efficient."
--Jim Taylor, PhD, "Technology: Myth of Multitasking"
--Jim Taylor, PhD, "Technology: Myth of Multitasking"
It's true. Whether we like it or not, the multitasking we all think we do so well actually doesn't exist. Well, not really.
The History.
The term "multitasking" first appeared when talking about technology, not people. It was "strictly a technical term referring to the parallel processing capabilities of computers." Then, somewhere around 1990, people started to apply this term to themselves, changing the definition to what it means for us today: "the apparent ability to attend to various tasks simultaneously with the help of digital technologies" (Mach 85). Now, the term is almost entirely connoting the former definition. |
The Myth.
Because we aren't human computers--not yet--we don't have the ability that computers do to focus equally on two tasks at once. True multitasking can only happen if "at least one of the tasks is so well learned as to be automatic, meaning no focus or thought is necessary to engage in the task" and if both tasks "involve different types of brain processing," according to Dr. Jim Taylor. So, we can't truly do two equally complex tasks at the same time--or, at least not well. |
IN FACT, the very people who think they're good at multitasking are actually the ones who are the worst at it. "Those who reported multitasking the most and thought they were the best at it were actually the worst," says Robert Schmerling. He cites a Stanford University study which "found that people who rated themselves as great multitaskers were terrible at it. Not only did they make more mistakes than non-multitaskers, they took longer to get things done."
SEVERAL STUDIES also verified that people who multitask all the time are the people who should be doing it the least. According to Dr. Taylor, "Those who rated themselves as chronic multitaskers made more mistakes, could remember fewer items, and took longer to complete a variety of focusing tasks analogous to multitasking than those self-rated as infrequent multitaskers." He also cites a National Public Radio (NPR) interview with Clifford Nass, co-author of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) study, who says, "The shocking discovery of this research is that [high multitaskers] are lousy at everything that's necessary for multitasking" (qtd. in Taylor).
SEVERAL STUDIES also verified that people who multitask all the time are the people who should be doing it the least. According to Dr. Taylor, "Those who rated themselves as chronic multitaskers made more mistakes, could remember fewer items, and took longer to complete a variety of focusing tasks analogous to multitasking than those self-rated as infrequent multitaskers." He also cites a National Public Radio (NPR) interview with Clifford Nass, co-author of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) study, who says, "The shocking discovery of this research is that [high multitaskers] are lousy at everything that's necessary for multitasking" (qtd. in Taylor).