Multitasking, attention and performance : a happy threesome?

Abstract

"As you read these lines, some questions come to mind. Where is your cell phone? Are you listening to music while you're reading? When you’re in a videoconference meeting, do you ever feed two birds with one scone by shopping online or answering an urgent e-mail? And that’s just the beginning... Chances are that your computer, tablet and cell phone—your daily companions—aren’t far away, or even centimetres away as you read this article. There’s nothing unusual about this, and it’s widely observed in professional and academic environments. How often do we see a student in the middle of a class shopping for clothes online, watching a television series or mechanically checking their phone? And yet, if they were given a clear explanation of why multitasking is bad for them, it would seem obvious. So why persist in adopting a behaviour we know to be harmful? More importantly, how can we curb this problem, which has been documented for years, and reduce its impact on the success of college students?" -- AQPC