Technology and Multitasking: Do they Go Hand in Hand?

In recent years, the act of multitasking has been increasingly stigmatized, due in part to the release of studies suggesting that such activity is in fact counter productive.  Experts have gone as far as to tie the rise of technology to the increase in multitaskers in our society, which in turn they would say has a direct correlation with the bad habits that newer generations are acquiring.  These bad habits could include acts such as texting while driving, browsing the web or Facebook chatting while in class, or even over-relying on GPS rather than learning local geography.

Photo from Flickr.com by Tony Fischer Photography

Does multitasking actually expose a much larger technology related problem of knowledge retention in young teens?

In my opinion, attaching technology to the rise of bad habits is ridiculous.  Humans have always tried to multitask throughout history, not just in the recent electronic era.  While current multitasking could be doing homework while listening to music, in the past we most likely ate while discussing war strategy or read religious texts while also looking at the cute girl two pews ahead.  Suggesting that technology has “created” multitasking is therefore a ridiculous assertion.

Experts have completely shot down the concept that multitasking can be in any way positive, simply because of its relation to reduction in overall performance.  However, I would point out that there are in fact many pros to multitasking.  Technology actually facilitates multitasking by making it easier to partake in.  Many examples can be given to illustrate the validity of this view point:

Multitasking keeps one connected along work.  Many jobs today require employees to stay in constant contact with their co-workers and a computer facilitates this.  Messenger services such as MSN or Skype allow one to stay in touch with others without affecting work.  Technology has become so efficient that such programs actually run silently on the desktop without disturbing the performance of other programs, creating a big advantage for those who have to remain constantly online.

There is also the possibility of collecting information from multiple sources.  For example, one can now browse information from multiple sites simultaneously.  Clearly, opening multiple sites at the same time can have some effects on the speed and performance of the computer.  However, the merits of browsing multiple websites are clear when it comes to writing research papers, and also there are entertainment purposes as well.  One can check the scores of sports games on ESPN during their break without losing history of previous websites needed.

Furthermore, multitasking actually does save time.  When users work on multiple programs at the same time, this entails less time they need to spend on one of those programs later on. Running several programs simultaneously is a great time saving strategy, and has been directly included as a feature in newer models of computers, in which the processor multitasks without the user even knowing about it.

People stay updated when they multitask as well. One can remain up to date due to getting information from multiple sources.  This is now an essential feature of any operating system, one that can also keep people informed about trends in the workplace as well.

Finally, multitasking keeps people busy and awake.  While waiting for files to download, workers can read a newspaper online or do a virtual crossword puzzle.  This can extend to playing online games or even listening to music.  This is truly a benefit of multitasking especially considering anyone can relate to needing a little break during long hours of working on a project.

Clearly, multitasking has actually been facilitated by technology, which has helped us in our social communities and in the workplace, not detracted from our productivity.