Most of us do it every day: check our email, text our friends, turn on the radio and make a phone call. In fact, some people are so skilled that they can do all four of these things at the same time! However, it is fair to say that if you work in any type of job that includes computers and marketing, this kind of multitasking ability is usually a requirement.According to a recent study by Stanford University researchers, it was found that people who constantly deal with several different types of electronic information and switch from one task to another:
- Don’t pay attention
- Can’t control their memory
- Switch from one task to another worse than someone who completes a single task at a time
Stanford calls these people “high-tech jugglers,” and they apparently don’t do any better than someone that chooses to take their time completing a single task. Stanford Professor Clifford Nass even says these people are “suckers for irrelevancy” and that “everything distracts them.”
So, are you offended like I am? I consider myself to be a fair multitasker, and I always thought that it was a good thing. Apparently the researchers at Stanford are out to prove the old theory that it’s impossible to process more than one string of information at a time.
If you’re interested in reading more about the Stanford study that put 100 students through a series of multitasking tests, you can read about it at Stanford University News.
Trish Smith
http://www.otonetworks.com
