The Myth of Multitasking

         

           Multitasking has been considered by many psychiatrists to be a myth because our brain can’t actually do two things at once. Sure, you can walk and talk at the same time, but that’s because you are using two different parts of the brain while you do so, so it doesn’t affect much of your performance. But some other cases like writing an essay and watching the TV at the same time, it seems like you are doing two things at once, but in reality, you are just switching back and forth. So there is no such thing as multitasking.

          The term “response selection bottleneck” refers to when you are doing many things at once; you actually have to prioritize them and then do it one by one, like filtering them first. This usually shows how you slow down and can’t perform as well as when you are only doing one thing at a time, with your undivided attention.

          David Meyer says that multitasking releasing stress hormones and adrenaline is important because if you keep multitasking, excess amount of these things will be produced and can cause a long-term damage. This can lead to the loss of short-term memory. Although his research also says that maybe, with training, your mind can switch back and forth more effectively, although never actually reaching the term "multitasking"

          Russell Poldrack found that you can actually learn when you multitask, but that learning is less pliable and more direct, making it harder to call back this piece of information stored. His research shows the different parts of the brain used to learn and to store new information when they are not focused. And since we are designed to focus,  we are not being as efficient as we thought we are, because the information is not stored in the part of the brain that makes it easier to retrieve.

          The author concludes that if we keep on multitasking, we are not being more efficient, but on the contrary, our brains don't work as well as when you are concentrating on only one thing at once. This is important because it affects everything in our daily lives. Companies, for example, will maybe earn less than a profit. Students will probably score lower on tests. The author also states that in the future we will invent new devices to help us overcome the unintended attention towards other things and to set mental limits when we try to do too much in a short amount of time. Or maybe we will simply adjust and those things that used to be a distraction, like phone ringings, getting emails, television sounds, will merely be some very distant background noises that doesn't affect us much anymore.