Media multitasking: Googling and staring at the same time

Gut feeling says: This can’t be good in the long run. Whether this is true is not as clear as it might sound.

Scientists from psychology, neurology, social and behavioral research have been working on the topic of media multitasking for more than fifteen years. However, opinions differ as to what is actually meant by the term.

Susanne Baumgartner, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Amsterdam, works with a rather broad definition: “Media multitasking is when two media are used at the same time or one medium is used while you are actually doing something else,” she says in the video interview. This means that if a daughter answers messages on her smartphone while talking to her mother, that would already fall under media multitasking. The same applies to listening to podcasts while driving.

Others like Tilo Strobach, professor of general psychology at the Medical School Hamburgdefine the phenomenon more narrowly. In order to speak of media multitasking, you either have to use two or more media at the same time or you have to complete several tasks within one medium. This includes, for example, sitting in front of the TV and scrolling on Instagram or listening to a podcast and answering emails at the same time. “Media multitasking is a subcategory of general multitasking,” says Tilo Strobach.

What, on the other hand, does not count as media multitasking in research: if you spend three hours on a social media platform and consume a large number of videos, photos, sounds and tones in a short period of time. Even though the brain has to constantly switch back and forth, it all counts as just one action.

Our brains cannot multitask

In studies of multitasking, subjects typically have to complete certain tasks – one after the other or simultaneously. When asked how they accomplished each task, a clear answer can usually be found at the end. We now know that tasks cannot really be completed at the same time. The brain can only concentrate on one thing at a time. At least for things that are cognitively demanding. Instead, attention switches back and forth. The result: stress for the brain, you make more mistakes.

In comparison, research in the area of ​​media multitasking is often more complicated: How people use media is constantly changing. New technologies, formats and thus questions are constantly being added. “In the beginning it was surprising to us when people used their tablets while watching TV, but now it has become completely normal,” says social psychologist Susanne Baumgartner.

Many studies in this area try to find out not only what effect media multitasking has on memory and cognitive abilities, but also whether it is harmful to our health. People are always asked about psychological well-being. For example, test subjects have to recognize the direction of arrows on a screen as quickly as possible, which provides information about their ability to concentrate and react. They are then assessed for impulsivity or poor sleep.

“Multitasking a lot, more attention problems”

Children and young people are particularly interesting for research because they are often the first to adapt new media. They also spend a lot of time on the different platforms. And last but not least, many parents, educators and researchers are deeply concerned that the intensive use of social media, streaming and messenger services could have a negative impact on brain development.

A result that is repeatedly shown in research: “People who multitask a lot have more attention problems,” says Susanne Baumgartner. In concrete terms, this means, for example: young people who multitask a lot with media have more difficulty concentrating in class or when doing homework.

A study by the University of Luxembourg with eight to twelve year old children also found that media multitasking is associated with poorer sleep, less socio-emotional functioning and poorer mental health. Researchers at Michigan State University had previously come to similar results in adult test subjects: increased media multitasking is associated with higher symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Does multitasking make you forgetful?

A study by Kevin Madore and his team at the made headlines Stanford University on the effects on memory: “Media multitasking may make you forgetful,” this was reported at the beginning of 2021 by online services and magazines such as Geo. Madore showed 80 participants between the ages of 18 and 26 various pictures of objects. After a break, they saw pictures again and had to say whether they recognized them from the first round. Study participants who said they did a lot of media multitasking were more likely to forget the images. Kevin Madore attributes this to the fact that they had a harder time trying to pay attention.

Madore also had participants rate their behavior, such as how often they did something without thinking or how much they planned things in advance. In fact, the results supported Madore’s assessment: Strong media multitaskers had higher scores on attentional impulsivity. So they had more trouble staying alert for long periods of time without getting distracted.

However, all of these and many other studies share one problem: they cannot make a clear statement about causality. Is media multitasking the cause or the consequence? What came first – the problems with remembering or the media multitasking? Has frequent media multitasking harmed the ability to stay alert and focused or, conversely, are people with attention problems more likely to drift into multitasking?

Everyone does it

Finding out is difficult for various reasons: “I assume that everyone who has a smartphone multitasks with it,” says Susanne Baumgartner. But even if you found people who haven’t done this yet, a study in which they were made to multitask with media, even though it was already suspected that this would cause attention, memory and concentration problems, would be unethical.

One way to actually show causality is through long-term studies. At the University of Leipzig, young people’s media behavior and sleep problems were observed over a period of twelve months. The researchers came to the conclusion that there appears to be no single cause, but that sleep problems and high media consumption among young people influence each other. Researchers like Susanne Baumgartner assume that this spike could also apply to other phenomena that are related to media consumption and multitasking.

Many findings about media multitasking correspond to what is generally known about multitasking: those who carry out two or more tasks at the same time do both with less attention and care. If someone is texting while listening to a podcast, they will be less aware of the content of the podcast and less focused on what they are typing into Messenger. But it also depends on which areas of the brain are involved in the activities: Anyone who listens to a podcast in which people speak and at the same time formulates a message puts double the strain on their language processing.

Focused where it is needed?

However, it becomes easier with automated actions. During a long drive on the highway, you can concentrate on the content of an audio book or a radio show at the same time, better than in city traffic. “Many people are also familiar with the phenomenon that you turn the radio down when parking,” says Susanne Baumgartner, “because then you need more concentration.” However, she does not see some forms of parallel use as a problem. Cooking while listening to a podcast, for example – the activities are very different, cooking may also be practiced. Or: write something while listening to music that doesn’t contain any lyrics.

Good news comes from intelligence research. A meta-study at the University of Vienna with 21,000 test subjects from 32 countries showed a slight increase in the ability to concentrate in adults between 1990 and 2021. In other words: we tend to be distracted these days, but if necessary, today’s generations can work with concentration for long periods of time.

Susanne Baumgartner and Tilo Strobach rate media multitasking as less problematic than it sounds in some of the studies. “Of course you should be aware and aware that constant switching can be tiring and stressful,” says Susanne Baumgartner. It is certainly important to make sure that you take phases in which you are not using different media at the same time. But that always depends on how sensitive the individual person is to stress.

Tilo Strobach says media multitasking is often about things you do in your free time. Completing tasks correctly is not the focus here, but rather relaxation, fun and social interaction. Things are different with activities such as driving and talking on the phone at the same time, because accidents can happen.

“If I watch a series and write news at the same time, I’m sure I’ll miss something – but is it really that dramatic?” asks Strobach. After all, you don’t watch the series because you have to write a test about it afterwards. And we don’t yet know whether it will be harmful in the long term.