I am the first to say that I love multitasking. If I am cooking, researching for a film, emailing and stretching all at essentially the same time, I am happy. But then the happiness fades when I burn yet another pan (no joke) or can't recall anything from some research I just read or realize my stretching was half-hearted.
Larry Rosen, a psychologist and researcher who is in Screenagers, conducted a study where he surveyed people from three generations ("Baby Boomers" 1946-1964, "Gen X" 1965-1978, "Net" 1978-on). Rosen asked the study participants what types of tech tasks they did simultaneously such as surfing the web while having a conversation. They scored how mentally taxing it was for them to pair different tasks together. You might think that the younger generations would say they found pairing tasks easier than older generations when tech was involved. Surprisingly all generations ranked each pair of tasks as having the same difficulty.
We know the brain can handle certain kinds of tasks at the same time like walking and chewing gum because those actions don’t rely too much on the frontal cortex. However, our brains can't adequately process the performance of two tasks at the same time when those tasks require some thinking.
There was a study done on light versus heavy media multitaskers that looked at these two groups' ability to stay on task. The heavy multitasking media users performed significantly worse at staying on task than did the light multitaskers. This is important to consider as we raise a generation of kids who consume media at the same time they are checking their phones or playing a quick video game while doing homework.
For this week's TTT let’s put some science into action with our families. Rarely do I say watch a video, but after dinner, watch this video.
During dinner here is a fun game to try:
March 28, 2017
As well as our weekly blog, we publish videos like this one every week on the Screenagers YouTube channel
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Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Learn more about our Screen-Free Sleep campaign at the website!
Our movie made for parents and educators of younger kids
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Learn more about our Screen-Free Sleep campaign at the website!
Our movie made for parents and educators of younger kids
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
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I am the first to say that I love multitasking. If I am cooking, researching for a film, emailing and stretching all at essentially the same time, I am happy. But then the happiness fades when I burn yet another pan (no joke) or can't recall anything from some research I just read or realize my stretching was half-hearted.
Larry Rosen, a psychologist and researcher who is in Screenagers, conducted a study where he surveyed people from three generations ("Baby Boomers" 1946-1964, "Gen X" 1965-1978, "Net" 1978-on). Rosen asked the study participants what types of tech tasks they did simultaneously such as surfing the web while having a conversation. They scored how mentally taxing it was for them to pair different tasks together. You might think that the younger generations would say they found pairing tasks easier than older generations when tech was involved. Surprisingly all generations ranked each pair of tasks as having the same difficulty.
We know the brain can handle certain kinds of tasks at the same time like walking and chewing gum because those actions don’t rely too much on the frontal cortex. However, our brains can't adequately process the performance of two tasks at the same time when those tasks require some thinking.
There was a study done on light versus heavy media multitaskers that looked at these two groups' ability to stay on task. The heavy multitasking media users performed significantly worse at staying on task than did the light multitaskers. This is important to consider as we raise a generation of kids who consume media at the same time they are checking their phones or playing a quick video game while doing homework.
For this week's TTT let’s put some science into action with our families. Rarely do I say watch a video, but after dinner, watch this video.
During dinner here is a fun game to try:
March 28, 2017
As well as our weekly blog, we publish videos like this one every week on the Screenagers YouTube channel
Sign up here to receive the weekly Tech Talk Tuesdays newsletter from Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD.
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I am the first to say that I love multitasking. If I am cooking, researching for a film, emailing and stretching all at essentially the same time, I am happy. But then the happiness fades when I burn yet another pan (no joke) or can't recall anything from some research I just read or realize my stretching was half-hearted.
Larry Rosen, a psychologist and researcher who is in Screenagers, conducted a study where he surveyed people from three generations ("Baby Boomers" 1946-1964, "Gen X" 1965-1978, "Net" 1978-on). Rosen asked the study participants what types of tech tasks they did simultaneously such as surfing the web while having a conversation. They scored how mentally taxing it was for them to pair different tasks together. You might think that the younger generations would say they found pairing tasks easier than older generations when tech was involved. Surprisingly all generations ranked each pair of tasks as having the same difficulty.
We know the brain can handle certain kinds of tasks at the same time like walking and chewing gum because those actions don’t rely too much on the frontal cortex. However, our brains can't adequately process the performance of two tasks at the same time when those tasks require some thinking.
There was a study done on light versus heavy media multitaskers that looked at these two groups' ability to stay on task. The heavy multitasking media users performed significantly worse at staying on task than did the light multitaskers. This is important to consider as we raise a generation of kids who consume media at the same time they are checking their phones or playing a quick video game while doing homework.
For this week's TTT let’s put some science into action with our families. Rarely do I say watch a video, but after dinner, watch this video.
During dinner here is a fun game to try:
March 28, 2017
As well as our weekly blog, we publish videos like this one every week on the Screenagers YouTube channel
for more like this, DR. DELANEY RUSTON'S NEW BOOK, PARENTING IN THE SCREEN AGE, IS THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR TODAY’S PARENTS. WITH INSIGHTS ON SCREEN TIME FROM RESEARCHERS, INPUT FROM KIDS & TEENS, THIS BOOK IS PACKED WITH SOLUTIONS FOR HOW TO START AND SUSTAIN PRODUCTIVE FAMILY TALKS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND IT’S IMPACT ON OUR MENTAL WELLBEING.
