On the impact of new technologies on multitasking

Cardoso Leite, Pedro Michel; Green, C. Shawn; Bavelier, Daphné

doi:10.1016/j.dr.2014.12.001

Scientific article

English

On the impact of new technologies on multitasking

Contributors

Cardoso Leite, Pedro Michel; Green, C. Shawn; Bavelier, Daphné

Published in

Developmental review, vol. 35, p. 98-112

Publication date

2015

Abstract

Interest in multitasking has risen substantially over the past decade, both in the scientific community and the population at large. Large-scale surveys show that multitasking has not only become ubiquitous among adults, but is also increasingly invading the lives of young children. New technological devices promote multitasking allowing for the consumption of multiple types of media at the same time. And while some have argued that such multitasking represents a potential boon to productivity, others have suggested that the growing habit of media multitasking may have adverse effects. To shed light on these pressing issues, we first review our present understanding of multitasking and the possibility of training individuals to more swiftly multitask in the laboratory setting. We then highlight the varieties of media use and how they may differ in terms of multitasking needs, to finally turn to research documenting the impact of selected media use on multitasking.

Keywords

Media multitasking
Video games
Cognitive training
Task-switching
Multitasking
Transfer

Note

Special Issue: Living in the “Net” Generation: Multitasking, Learning, and Development

UNIGE affiliation entities

Faculté de psychologie et des sciences de l'éducation / Section de psychologie

UNIGE research groups

Brain & Learning Lab

Funding

Swiss National Science Foundation - Which aspects of attention should be fostered to lead to broad behavioral benefits? [140676]
Autre - Office of Naval Research N00014-14-1-0512

Citation (ISO format)

CARDOSO LEITE, Pedro Michel, GREEN, C. Shawn, BAVELIER, Daphné. On the impact of new technologies on multitasking. In: Developmental review, 2015, vol. 35, p. 98–112. doi: 10.1016/j.dr.2014.12.001

Article (Published version)

Identifiers

PID : unige:84708
DOI : 10.1016/j.dr.2014.12.001

Additional URL for this publication

http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0273229714000471

Journal ISSN

0273-2297

616views

946downloads

Creation

14/06/2016 12:01:00

First validation

14/06/2016 12:01:00

Update

13/10/2025 20:52:25

Status update

20/01/2025 09:28:02

Last indexation

01/09/2026 11:49:54

On the impact of new technologies on multitasking

Contributors

Published in

Publication date

Abstract

Keywords

Note

UNIGE affiliation entities

UNIGE research groups

Funding

Citation (ISO format)

Main files (1)

Identifiers

Additional URL for this publication

Journal ISSN

Technical informations

Creation

First validation

Update

Status update

Last indexation