Multitaskers apparently can’t multitask.
Scientists are now saying that when someone attempts to do many things at once, either the quality of their work suffers, or it takes them longer to perform those tasks.
“Some can get a lot done,” said Anita Nielsen, the school psychologist at RHS, “Then there are the ADHD multitaskers who start one task and just jump to another.”
In a study conducted at Stanford University (news.stanford.edu), published August 24, 2009, it was proven that multitaskers can’t sort out irrelevant information. People who claimed they could multi task were shown two red rectangles, either alone or surrounded by two, four, or six blue rectangles. Each picture was shown twice. The participants had to determine if the position of the red rectangles had changed between pictures. Those who were in the “high multitaskers” group had very low results.
“They just don’t filter [information] as well,” said Nielsen. “A lot of it depends on the person, [and] how they’re hard wired.”
Multitasking also slows down reaction time. For example, if the driver texts while driving, they don’t really pay attention to the road. Another car could pull out in front of them, and they could get in an accident. Texting while driving is one of the most dangerous forms of multitasking that is, unfortunately, performed by a lot of drivers.
Another habit of multitaskers is using many sources of media at the same time, like emailing while instant messaging and holding a phone conversation all at once. Having access to numerous information tools doesn’t necessarily help people become more competent in their intellectual chores, according to the ScienceNow website (sciencenow.sciencemag.org).
Nielsen said it’s like the tortoise and the hare. The tortoise, the person who doesn’t multitask, takes one task at a time, makes sure it gets done, and ends up finishing their tasks first. The hare, the person who is a high multitasker, tries to accomplish too many things at once and, as a result, their quality is poorer and it takes them longer.
Multitasking isn’t as efficient as people would like to believe it is. Those who multitask on a regular basis can’t distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information. Rather than help accomplish tasks, it hinders the person trying to do all of those things at once, by making them slower and diminishing the caliber.