The Perils of Multitasking: Impacts on Memory, Focus, and Well-being

Alex Dougherty

105-A13

Risks of Multitasking

These days it is very rare to find people who do not multitask. Whether it is during studying, hangout, or even family time, people tend to engage in doing multiple things at the same time. For years, multitasking has become a commonplace to get things done. While accomplishing a lot in a short amount of time sounds beneficial, research has shown that the brains of people who attempt to multitask are not as good at handling multiple things as they think.

When people are trying to do multiple things all at once instead of working on one task at a time, this makes it more difficult to tune out distractions and can cause mental roadblocks that can slow people down. People believe attempting to multitask can increase the number of outputs and save time, but in reality, it decreases the number of outputs and causes health-related problems. Therefore everyone must know how attempting to multitask affects long-term memory, forgetfulness, flexible knowledge, working memory, and study breaks.

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Attempting to multitask is harmful to long-term memory because it can result in memories, facts, and other information getting lost over time. People do not seem to realize that they "bombard [their] working memory with information from a slew of disconnected sources" (Bradley 3). For example, if someone was watching tv, listening to music, and following social media on the phone all at the same time, no new information can be processed through the brain because all of the things that the person is doing are competing for their attention.

There is a relationship between people's ability to develop long term memories and the amount of time spent on other experiences is what shows how multitasking can harm long term memory. For anyone who is between the ages of sixty and eighty chances are they might have significantly more trouble processing new information while in the phase of multitasking than people between the ages of twenty and thirty. Thus, anyone who is under too much pressure, new information does not become part of people's long-term memory, because multitasking makes it difficult to remember what people were doing in the short run, but also can hurt the ability to record experiences over the long run.

Attempting to multitask is harmful for people who tend to forget important highlights while working on multiple tasks at once because they can be distracted even by the sound of a phone vibrating. People "who are multitasking go away from a task, they forget what they were doing before the interruption" (Bradley 4). For example, a single parent will try anything h/she can to get everything accomplished. If single parents are focusing the attention from one task, and then switching to another in less than a second it decreases both focus and efficiency. If a parent started responding to work email, only to be distracted by a text or phone call, then their course of thought and sometimes backtrack to pick back up the momentum of what was previously being worked on. Hence, when trying to multitask, it becomes more hard staying focused on the completion of any tasks due to constantly jumping from one thing to another.

Attempting to multitask is harmful to people's flexible knowledge because if distractions are around while someone is learning different problems or concepts at the same time, then this will cause h/her to lose track. People who are surrounded by distractions are likely to have a more challenging time when learning something new meaning h/she "[can] not predict patterns that [are] not the direct result of memorization" (Bradley 4). People's flexibility knowledge includes being prepared and the ability to respond to any circumstance and expectations. Flexibility knowledge is an important asset when it comes to employees working in an office. For example, if someone is working on the computer, switching between tabs every five seconds and listening to a talk show on the phone, then this leads the employee working less effectively than other employees who do the job correctly without any distractions. This is why people's learning is less effective when there are constant interruptions if the minds are not in a flexible knowledge mindset.

Attempting to multitask is harmful to working memory because if people use up all of the storage in the brain, then it will reduce the ability of problem-solving and thinking creatively. If people were playing sports or following social media instead of doing anything productive "those activities that inhibit the consolidation of memories from their studies" (Bradley 4). This means people who are consciously and consistently shifting the attention from one task to the next will most likely increase the chances of making mistakes, missing important information, and cues. For example, if someone was working on a science fair project, but had to switch from working on the project to writing an eight-hundred-word essay every two to three minutes, then it would impair the persons' working memory leading to being stressed and less productive to get any work done. Consequently, with a lot of things going and attempting to multitask to get it everything done does not only lead to being stressed but can also lead to overexertion.

Attempting to multitask is harmful for people who take study breaks because people who try to strengthen memory, while also doing multiple things during study break time, are refusing to let the brain rest. People take study breaks usually to strengthen memory traces however if people take more study breaks then necessary it "add[s] more load to the tired part of the brain" (Bradley 5). Trying to accomplish something while on a study break does not only impair learning and working memory but is also stress-provoking and time-consuming. For example, if a student was taking a break from studying for an upcoming test, that student would likely plan on spending a minimum of thirty minutes to stabilize the mind. If the student is listening to music on the phone and playing video games for more than planned, then time to strengthen the mind is wasted and the student will likely not finish studying for the test. This results in the student not being prepared for the test and failing the test because the student did not use the time wisely like h/she was supposed to. Hence, is why multitasking during a short study break messes with people's brains so they can not get back to the task.

People who attempt to multitask do not realize what kind of risks they are taking. Whether it is at home doing multiple cores or texting while driving on the highway, it is obvious why multitasking has become a large issue in this modern era. Attempting to multitask, will lead to people's memories, facts, and other information to fade in a matter of time because no new information can be processed while anyone is under too much pressure. People who forget things will have more difficulty remembering important highlights of different tasks while being distracted by constant interruptions because people are continuously jumping from one task to the next it becomes more challenging staying focused. Anyone who wants to increase their "flexible knowledge" by learning new ideas, while distractions keep coming up, it becomes more challenging to keep their minds from responding to any different circumstances or expectations. Working memory can be impaired while multitasking, because it decreases the ability of problem-solving and thinking creatively. People who can take study breaks when necessary can easily be distracted into doing multiple things during that break time, because they are not allowing their brains to rest. People must know that when attempting to multitask they are affecting not just themselves, but for others around them as well.

Works Cited

Bradley, Karen. "Can Teens Really Do It All?" Independent School, vol 70, no. 4, Summer 2011,

Pp. 92-99. Academic Search Premier , 24 Oct. 2014.