Dealing with media distractions: an observational study of computer-based multitasking among children and adults in the Netherlands

Baumgartner, Susanne E.; Sumter, Sindy R.

doi:10.1080/17482798.2017.1304971

Cited by 28 publications

(24 citation statements)

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“…These findings imply that, particularly for adolescents with attention problems, the omnipresence of media may be distracting. This is also in line with a recent observational study showing that children with attention problems find it particularly difficult to focus their attention on a computer task in the presence of other appealing computer activities (Baumgartner & Sumter, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

The Relationship Between Media Multitasking and Attention Problems in Adolescents: Results of Two Longitudinal Studies

et al. 2017

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The increased prevalence of media multitasking among adolescents has raised concerns that media multitasking may cause attention problems. Despite cross-sectional evidence of the relationship between media multitasking and attention problems, no study has yet investigated this relationship longitudinally. It is therefore unclear how these two variables are related. Two 3-wave longitudinal studies with 3-and 6-month time lags were conducted. In total, 2,390 adolescents aged 11-16 provided data on media multitasking and attention problems. Findings from random intercept autoregressive crosslagged models suggest that media multitasking and attention problems were strongly related between individuals. Empirical evidence for a potential detrimental long-term effect of media multitasking on attention problems was only found among early adolescents but not among middle adolescents.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

The Relationship Between Media Multitasking and Attention Problems in Adolescents: Results of Two Longitudinal Studies

et al. 2017

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“…Adolescents spend 60% of the time they set aside for homework switching between homework and other activities (e.g., emails, instant messaging; playing video games; navigating through their home while carrying a tray of food; Foehr, 2006 ). Recently, Baumgartner and Sumter (2017) showed that children aged 6–13 years find it difficult to focus their attention on a main activity in the presence of appealing media distractors, e.g., walking, crossing a street while using a mobile was found to be the primary explanation for increasing rates of pedestrian injuries ( Byington and Schwebel, 2013 ; Thompson et al, 2013 ; Retting and Rothenberg, 2015 ). Also, most other tasks of everyday life (e.g., crossing a room while carrying an object; driving a car while making a call) or in sport settings (e.g., dribbling a ball while scanning around for a teammate to whom to pass) are not done in isolation, requiring the individual to perform two or more tasks either simultaneously or in rapid succession.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Profiles of Cognitive-Motor Interference During Walking in Children: Does the Motor or the Cognitive Task Matter?

Schott

Klotzbier

2018

Front. Psychol.

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The evidence supporting the effects of age on the ability to coordinate a motor and a cognitive task show inconsistent results in children and adolescents, where the Dual-Task Effects (DTE) – if computed at all – range from either being lower or comparable or higher in younger children than in older children, adolescents and adults. A feasible reason for the variability in such findings is the wide range of cognitive tasks (and to some extend of motor tasks) used to study Cognitive-Motor Interference (CMI). Our study aims at determining the differences in CMI when performing cognitive tasks targeting different cognitive functions at varying walking pathways. 69 children and adolescents (boys, n = 45; girls, n = 24; mean age, 11.5 ± 1.50 years) completed higher-level executive function tasks (2-Back, Serial Subtraction, Auditory Stroop, Clock Task, TMT-B) in comparison to non-executive distracter tasks [Motor Response Task (MRT), TMT-A] to assess relative effects on gait during straight vs. repeated Change of Direction (COD) walking. DT during COD walking was assessed using the Trail-Walking-Test (TWT). The motor and cognitive DTE were calculated for each task. There were significant differences between 5th and 8th graders on single gait speed on the straight (p = 0.016) and the COD pathway (p = 0.023), but not on any of the DT conditions. The calculation of DTEs revealed that motor DTEs were lowest for the MRT and highest for the TWT in the numbers/letters condition (p < 0.05 for all comparisons). In contrast, there were cognitive benefits for the higher-order cognitive tasks on the straight pathways, but cognitive costs for both DT conditions on the COD pathway (p < 0.01 for all comparisons). Our findings demonstrate that DT changes in walking when completing a secondary task that involve higher-level cognition are attributable to more than low-level divided attention or motor response processes. These results specifically show the direct competition for higher-level executive function resources important for walking, and are in agreement with previous studies supporting the cognitive-motor link in relation to gait in children. This might be in line with the idea that younger children may not have adequate cognitive resources.

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“…For example, characteristics of the tasks and the individual's level of interest in or motivation for the task will determine the attentional strategy employed (Oken, Salinsky, & Elsas, 2006;Zhang & Zhang, 2012). We also acknowledge, however, that trait-level factors will influence general tendencies in attentional strategy adoption (Baumgartner & Sumter, 2017;Forster & Lavie, 2014;Ralph & Smilek, 2017). Some individuals tend to distribute attention broadly while others focus attention narrowly.…”

Section: Chronic Media Multitasking and Attentional Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As digital media continue to permeate all dimensions of our lives, a growing number of research studies into the effects of chronic media use are being reported (e.g., Baumgartner, Lemmens, Weeda, & Huizinga, 2017;Baumgartner & Sumter, 2017;Cain & Mitroff, 2011;Jeong & Hwang, 2012;le Roux & Parry, 2017b). An important subset of these studies investigate the effects of chronic media-multitasking for attentional control (e.g., Cain & Mitroff, 2011;Ophir, Nass, & Wagner, 2009;Ralph & Smilek, 2017;Ralph, Thomson, Seli, Carriere, & Smilek, 2015;Uncapher, Thieu, & Wagner, 2016;Yap & Lim, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating differences in the attention distribution strategies of high and low media multitaskers through a two-dimensional game

Roux¹,

Parry²

2019

Cyberpsychology

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The rapid advancement of mobile computing devices and the ever-growing range of infotainment services they enable have cultivated high levels of media multitasking. Studies have considered the effects of this form of behaviour for cognitive control ability, with findings suggesting that chronic media multitasking is associated with reduced inhibitory control. In this study we advance knowledge in this domain by investigating differences in the attention distribution strategies of high and low media multitaskers (HMMs and LMMs) through a simple, twodimensional game. 1 063 university students completed a web-based survey concerning their media multitasking behaviour and played the 2D game. Contributing to the ecological validity of the study the game was played within the respondent's web-browser, as part of the survey, at a time and place (and on a computer) of their choosing. During gameplay one of two different banners, both irrelevant to the game, were displayed adjacent to the game. No instructions were provided in relation to the banners. Our analysis considered respondents' performance in the game in relation to both their media multitasking and the content of the banner displayed. Our findings suggest that while HMMs attend to distracting stimuli independent of their content or salience, LMMs are more selective. This selectivity enables improved primary task performance when distracting stimuli are deemed unimportant. Additionally, we found that LMMs generally recalled banner information more accurately after the game was played. About AuthorsDaniel B. le Roux (PhD) is a senior lecturer at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. His research concerns complex, self-organising socio-technical systems and, more recently, behavioural effects of technology adoption and use. Over the past five years he has focussed on the effects of the rapid advancement and adoption of mobile computing devices (smartphones in particular) and the manner in which the ubiquity and pervasiveness of these devices influence, firstly, behaviour in personal and social contexts, and, secondly, cognitive processes and capabilities. He established and heads up the Cognition and Technology Research Group (CTRG) at Stellenbosch University (see http://suinformatics.com/ctrg). Douglas A. Parry is an early career researcher interested in the meeting point between people and technology. He currently holds a faculty position teaching and supervising within the undergraduate and postgraduate Socio Informatics programs as part of the Department of Information Science at Stellenbosch University. As a member of the Cognition and Technology Research Group (CTRG), he is involved in a number of research projects concerning the interplay between emerging digital technologies, human cognition and affective wellbeing. His research interests include: media effects, human computer interaction, and cyberpsychology. He is currently working towards a doctoral degree specifically focusing on media multitasking and cognitive control.

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Dealing with media distractions: an observational study of computer-based multitasking among children and adults in the Netherlands

Cited by 28 publications

References 61 publications

The Relationship Between Media Multitasking and Attention Problems in Adolescents: Results of Two Longitudinal Studies

The Relationship Between Media Multitasking and Attention Problems in Adolescents: Results of Two Longitudinal Studies

Profiles of Cognitive-Motor Interference During Walking in Children: Does the Motor or the Cognitive Task Matter?

Investigating differences in the attention distribution strategies of high and low media multitaskers through a two-dimensional game

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