Is Multitasking Effective
Research Essay: Is Multitasking Effective
What is multitasking anyway? Is multitasking good or bad for us? Multitasking is one of those subjects that the experts never seem to be able to agree on. Is it a positive attribute to boast about on resumes, or is it a risky habit that is harmful to those with attention issues? Is there areas in life—at home, in the office, in the classroom—where multitasking is OK, and others areas where it is not? Multitasking is all around us: the office worker interrupted by a phone call, the teenager texting while driving, the salesperson chatting while entering an order. When multitasking, the mind juggles all the many tasks we're doing this second, this hour, this week, and tries to perform them together, …show more content…
Why? Another study conducted by Prof. Zheng Wang and John Tchernev (both from The Ohio State University) may shine some light on the answer to that question. "The researchers found “that multitasking often gave . . . an emotional boost, even when it hurt . . .cognitive functions, such as studying. "'There’s this myth among some people that multitasking makes them more productive,' said Zheng Wang . . .'But they seem to be misperceiving the positive feelings they get from multitasking. They are not being more productive—they just feel more emotionally satisfied from their work.'" (Augustin). I think that makes sense, right? Who in this day and age is immune to doing what feels good, regardless of the consequences. But even the cave man in his time learned that fire burns, even in spite of the fact that the warmth it provided made him feel good. The reasons we persist in our attempts to be effective multitaskers are much more diverse and not so black and white. Let us look at one type of of job where multitasking is more the norm. Take the U.S Military as an example. An infantryman may have to decide on a general course of action, plan his path of movement, run, and fire his weapon simultaneously. When engaging multiple targets, a tank crew must continuously navigate and control …show more content…
Our brain assigns rules to how we do something and switching between tasks means closing one set of rules and opening another.
• Interruptions – a ringing phone, the chime of an instant message – makes it difficult to come back to the original task at hand.
•
• Multitasking often results in busywork—doing a lot, but accomplishing nothing. Whether in the office or in the classroom multitasking creates a drop in efficiency.
• Non-stop distractions often lead to frustration and loss of attention. Instead of accomplishing many things, very little gets done.
• The more technologically savvy we become, the less we tend to use basic, old-fashioned social skills.
• The brain gets tired. Just like any other muscle, it can be taxed, thus making it a less-effective decision
What is multitasking anyway? Is multitasking good or bad for us? Multitasking is one of those subjects that the experts never seem to be able to agree on. Is it a positive attribute to boast about on resumes, or is it a risky habit that is harmful to those with attention issues? Is there areas in life—at home, in the office, in the classroom—where multitasking is OK, and others areas where it is not? Multitasking is all around us: the office worker interrupted by a phone call, the teenager texting while driving, the salesperson chatting while entering an order. When multitasking, the mind juggles all the many tasks we're doing this second, this hour, this week, and tries to perform them together, …show more content…
Why? Another study conducted by Prof. Zheng Wang and John Tchernev (both from The Ohio State University) may shine some light on the answer to that question. "The researchers found “that multitasking often gave . . . an emotional boost, even when it hurt . . .cognitive functions, such as studying. "'There’s this myth among some people that multitasking makes them more productive,' said Zheng Wang . . .'But they seem to be misperceiving the positive feelings they get from multitasking. They are not being more productive—they just feel more emotionally satisfied from their work.'" (Augustin). I think that makes sense, right? Who in this day and age is immune to doing what feels good, regardless of the consequences. But even the cave man in his time learned that fire burns, even in spite of the fact that the warmth it provided made him feel good. The reasons we persist in our attempts to be effective multitaskers are much more diverse and not so black and white. Let us look at one type of of job where multitasking is more the norm. Take the U.S Military as an example. An infantryman may have to decide on a general course of action, plan his path of movement, run, and fire his weapon simultaneously. When engaging multiple targets, a tank crew must continuously navigate and control …show more content…
Our brain assigns rules to how we do something and switching between tasks means closing one set of rules and opening another.
• Interruptions – a ringing phone, the chime of an instant message – makes it difficult to come back to the original task at hand.
•
• Multitasking often results in busywork—doing a lot, but accomplishing nothing. Whether in the office or in the classroom multitasking creates a drop in efficiency.
• Non-stop distractions often lead to frustration and loss of attention. Instead of accomplishing many things, very little gets done.
• The more technologically savvy we become, the less we tend to use basic, old-fashioned social skills.
• The brain gets tired. Just like any other muscle, it can be taxed, thus making it a less-effective decision