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Christina Ring
Dr. Reid
English 101
November 10, 2015

Media Multitasking Hinders Students Learning

As technology becomes more readily accessible and mobile, media use has increased
dramatically. The effects of technology innovations create major impacts on society.
Historically, technology improvements have been seen as a potential solution to increase
educational attainment. While many schools strive to provide their students with the latest new
technologies, it is important to first understand the impact they can have on learning. Media
multitasking negatively influences students performance and alters visual attention process.
Although many may argue that the ability to multitask is a strength, studies show the negative
impact of heavy media use on the brains psychosocial functioning of trying to accomplish too
much at once. Educators need to find new ways to avoid the bad uses of technology in the
classroom and seek a better understanding of how technology can distract from the process of
learning. If recent research is accurate, it shows that that technology in the classroom can lead to
slower learning and can hinder a students learning environment.
Social scientists have long assumed that it is impossible for the brain to process multiple
pieces of information at one time. Increase in multitasking with media has created a cause for
concern about the impact media is having on brain function and if it alters visual attention
process and cognitive systems. Within the past decade, there has been a 120% increase in the
time that youth between the ages of 8 and 18 years old multitask with media (Alzahabi and

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Becker 1). Studies are indicating that people who regularly media multitask do not pay attention
as well and are damaging their cognitive control by taking in too much information at once.
Recent research in education has also pointed out that the minds of heavy media multitasking
students are not working as well as they could be and are significantly slowed down by not being
able to focus. Some researchers have also argued that people who media multitask must have
better control over what they think about and what they pay attention to however, this theory has
been proven false in multiple experiments. Heavier media multitasking individuals are not able
to keep things separate in their minds and are found to perform worse on cognitive control tasks
and exhibit more socio-emotional difficulties(Loh and Kanai 1). This suggests that by doing
less, the mind can more effectively process information and accomplish tasks.
Dividing attention by media multitasking impedes learning and performance. Studies
have found those individuals who multitasked more often were more distractible then those who
did so less often. Ones ability to switch between two tasks and to perform two tasks
simultaneously is associated with media multitasking. In the article The Association between
media Multitasking, Task-switching, and Dual-task performance, Alzahabi and Becker claim,
Research in the education domain has found evidence that media is impacting the way students
process information and learn(1). Thus, the negative effect of multitasking on learning may be
related to reduced brain resources that are available to complete a task. A study was conducted
assessing the effects of technology use on student attitudes and learning. Cell phone use is
significantly correlated with reduced learning outcomes: students who reported no cell phone use
earned significantly higher grades than those who used their phones during class (Duncan,
Hoekstra, and Wilcox 2). The results showed a significant negative correlation between in-class
multimedia use and final grades, therefore supporting the claim that students cannot multitask

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nearly as effectively as they think they can. This issue will become increasingly important for
teachers as more and more students come to class with Internet-capable handheld devices. In
addition to affecting individual students, in-class use of digital devices can be harmful to the
learning of others. For example, in a study conducted in five different courses at a major
university 47% of students agreed that in-class cell phone use is somewhat disrespectful
(Duncan, Hoekstra, and Wilcox 4). Research also points out that multitasking with media may
lead to over-stimulation, and hinder students ability to focus adequately in the classroom. In the
article The Effect of Multitasking to faculty Members Academic Works, Bahar Baran claims
Multitasking may have a detrimental effect on academic works since it is not possible to handle
more than one works at a time(1). Learners have split attention when information is presented in
the same modality and so; their cognitive load increases, leading to a negative effect on academic
work.
Multitasking can lead to over-stimulation of the brains functioning and it has been
suggested that heavy media use leads to impaired psychosocial functioning. Having too much
information presented at the same time causes the brain to not be able to differentiate between
what is important and what isn't, therefore negatively affecting memory. Tablet computers are
being used for educational purposes but there is little examination of how students interactions
with these technologies affect the learning process. Tablet computers are thought to be effective
learning tools because it engages users attention and cognitive activity. However, is there a
negative correlation between a students engagement with new technologies and their cognitive
load? In a study conducted at the University of Toronto on childrens tablet computer use in
education, Rhonda and Adam argue in learning scenarios where there is high interactivity-as in
this case in the multimedia content found on tablet computers-extraneous cognitive load can

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interfere with learning(9). This shows that technology in the classroom can lead to increased
cognitive load and can take away from valuable learning time.
Media multitasking has been associated with negative psychosocial and cognitive
impacts. Individuals who engage in heavier media multitasking are found to perform worse on
cognitive control tasks and research has suggested that negative psychosocial impacts such as
depression and social anxiety can also be associated with media multitasking. The Institute of
Cognitive Neuroscience conducted a study to investigate relationships between media
multitasking activity and brain structure. In a Voxel-Based Morphometry analysis they found
that Individuals with higher media multitasking index scores had smaller gray matter density in
the anterior cingulate cortex(Loh and Kanai 1). This finding states that there is a possible
association between anterior cingulate cortex structure differences and a persons media
multitasking behavior. Also, the main findings of Loh and Kanai indicated that heavier media
multitaskers had smaller ACC volumes(5). This reveals a correlation between decreased
cognitive control performance and heavy media-multitaskers. Finally, heavy multitaskers were
slower in detecting changes in visual patterns, more susceptible to false recollections of the
distractions during a memory task, and were slower in task switching (Loh and Kanai 6). This
study suggests that there are associations between individual media multitasking behaviors and
ACC structure differences.
The overall impact using multiple media sources on learning is damaging to performance,
especially among heavy multitaskers. Experimental research has shown that interruptions can be
disruptive in the classroom, leading to errors and decreased performance. In a recent study
conducted by Ophir Nass it was concluded that heavy multitaskers are distracted by the multiple
streams of media they are consuming or, alternatively, that those who infrequently multitask are

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more effective at volitionally allocating their attention in the face of distractions(15585). Not
only does technology lead to interruptions, but also returning to a task from those interruptions
results in slower learning. Similarly, it has been found that students who use technology in class
were more distracted and had worse classroom performance. Duncan, Hoekstra and Wilcox
found that Cell phone use is significantly correlated with reduced learning outcomes: students
who reported no cell phone use earned significantly higher grads than those who used their
phones during class (2). The observation and interview data collected in this study suggest that
digital devices cause students to overestimate their ability to media multitask. In order for
students to perform better in school they need to not practice task switching as a normal part of
learning in the classroom. It is important to focus without distractions even though the drive to
multitask is strong.
In conclusion, the data collected in the observation, survey, and interviews indicate that
media multitasking is ineffective and a distraction to student learning. When information is
presented in the same modality, students cognitive load increases, resulting in split attention
spans. The research points out that multitasking with media may lead to over-stimulation,
therefore hindering students ability to focus adequately in the classroom.

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Works Cited
Alzahabi, Reem, and Mark W. Becker. "The Association between Media Multitasking, Task- switching,
and Dual-task Performance." Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and
Performance 39.5 (2013): 1485-495. American Psychological Association. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
Duncan, Douglas K., Angel R. Hoekstra, and Bethany R. Wilcox. "Digital Devices, Distraction, and
Student Performance: Does In-Class Cell Phone Use Reduce Learning?" Astronomy Education
Review 11.1 (2012): n. pag. The American Astronomical Society. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
Loh, Kep Kee, and Ryota Kanai. Higher Media Multi-Tasking Activity Is Associated with Smaller
Gray-Matter Density in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex. PLoS ONE 9.9 (2014): n. pag. Web. 8
Nov. 2015.
Maran, Bahar. "The Effect of Multitasking to Faculty Members' Academic Works." Educational
Consultancy and Research Center 13.4 (2013): 2347-353. Educational Sciences: Theory &
Practice. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
McEwen, Rhonda N., and Adam K. Dube. Engaging or Distracting: Childrens Tablet Computer Use in
Education. Educational Technology & Society 18.4 (2015): 9-23. Web. 8 Nov. 2015.

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