Peer-reviewed article
Productivity of tasks performance in children and adolescents with different level of media multitasking
Koshevaya A, Soldatova G, Chigarkova S ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how media multitasking affects task productivity in children and adolescents aged 7-16 years. Researchers identified four types of media multitasking behavior, ranging from single-tasking to heavy multitasking. The findings show that both single-taskers and heavy multitaskers performed better on tasks, while medium multitaskers showed lower productivity, suggesting that different behavioral strategies can lead to varying levels of performance.
Key points
- Four distinct types of media multitasking behavior were identified: single-taskers (23%), light (19%), medium (54%), and heavy (4%) multitaskers
- Single-taskers and heavy multitaskers showed significantly higher task performance scores compared to medium multitaskers
- Light and heavy multitaskers completed tasks fastest, while single-taskers (one subgroup) were slowest
- Task performance differed significantly between groups (p=0.027) as did task completion time (p=0.006)
- Most children operated in media multitasking mode, which is becoming the dominant behavior pattern for younger generations
Limitations
The document does not specify the country or countries where the research was conducted, making it difficult to assess generalizability. The study lacks information about the specific nature of tasks performed, potential confounding variables, or long-term implications of different multitasking patterns for child development.
Abstract
Introduction Media multitasking (MMT) begins to play an increasingly important role in terms of the digitalization of everyday life. At the same time, the effect of MMT on efficiency is still poorly highlighted, especially among the younger generation (May, Elder, 2018; Patterson, 2017; Peifer, Zipp, 2019). Objectives The aim is to identify types of MMT in children and compare them by productivity and time of task performance. Methods Quasi-experimental research, which included the performance of tasks on a computer and a smartphone, was conducted among children in three groups aged 7-10 years, 11-13 years, 14-16 years (N=154). Results Based on a number of criteria, several types of behavior are identified in the MMT environment: two subgroups of “single-taskers” (23%), “light” (19%), “medium” (54%) and “heavy” (4%) MMT. Comparative analysis (p=0.027) reveals high scores for proper task performance of the subgroup “single-taskers1”, as well as “heavy” and “light” MMT. The other subgroup “single-taskers2” and “medium” MMT show, on the contrary, low productivity results. MMT groups also differ in terms of task performance time (p=0.006). The “light” and “heavy” MMT cope the fastest. The second place by the speed of task performance is held by “medium” MMTs and “single-taskers1”, and the slowest are “single-taskers2”. Conclusions The results show that both linear and nonlinear behavioral strategies can lead to a certain level of performance. Most children try to operate in the MMT mode and it is becoming the dominant and ubiquitous modus vivendi for the younger generation. The reported study was funded by RFBR, project No. 19-29-14181. Conflict of interest The reported study was funded by RFBR, project No. 19-29-14181.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
Problem
Effects of media multitasking on task productivity and performance in children and adolescents
- Intervention
- Comparison of task performance (on computer and smartphone) across different media multitasking behavioral types
- Population
- 154 children and adolescents in three age groups: 7-10 years, 11-13 years, and 14-16 years
Key finding
Single-taskers and heavy multitaskers achieved high task performance scores (p=0.027)
A et al. · PubMed Central (PMC) · 13 Aug 2021