Students have many things to do in the modern digital world and tons of stimuli competing for their attention. Technology has offered numerous avenues of entertainment and sources of information, making students feel that they need to divide their attention between multiple things. This may mean checking social media updates while working on an assignment or trying to finalize more than one task at the sesame time.
In certain quarters, multitasking seems popular and is seen as a skill that everyone needs to learn. However, recent studies point to a multitasking problem, especially among college students. According to the findings, more than 60% of learners report using social media or television when studying or working on assignments.
Experts suggest that multitasking diminishes productivity. So, can students multitask, or does the act of balancing two or more tasks have serious dangers? This article explores some of the adverse effects of multitasking.
Table of Contents
Multitasking Reduces Focus
According to a recent study, students who do more than one task simultaneously are vulnerable to distractions. You risk being interrupted by irrelevant stimuli, making you lose focus. With tons of projects to complete within a short span, you cannot afford to waste time on unimportant things. Distracted students lose focus quickly, leading to a loss of creativity.
Remember, there is adequate evidence showing that the human brain cannot focus on more than one task at a time. So, instead of multitasking, students try to switch rapidly between tasks. The typical reaction when you try to do more than one thing concurrently is to slow down. This means that multitasking reduces the pace with which you do things.
Multitasking Can Lead to Memory Impairment
Excessive multitasking can diminish both working and long-term memory. Researchers have found a link between constant multitasking, attention lapses, and frequent forgetfulness. The diminished ability to recall important details can be attributed to information overload due to multitasking.
When multitasking, the student is presented with various sources of information. This can lead to an impairment of trivial and crucial information differentiation. This increases the student’s risk of error and can lead to poor academic performance. Instead of multitasking, get assignment help from a professional essay writer.
Multitasking Increases Stress
Another reason college students need to avoid multitasking is its link to increased stress. College life is already quite hectic, and you don’t need to add to the existing stress. However, recent studies show a negative impact of multitasking on the human body.
According to the experts, multitasking can overwhelm students’ brains, increasing the secretion of stress hormones. Also, since multitasking slows down the pace with which students work on tasks, the accumulation of urgent projects can cause more stress.
Multitasking Can Be Rude
There are situations where your attention is required, and multitasking seems rude. When you multitask alone in your study space, the consequences are yours to bear. However, texting or receiving calls during group projects or meetings seems rude and shows that you are distracted. It is more polite to focus all your attention on the tasks, even when you feel bored.
Multitasking Inhibits Creativity
Another reason you should avoid multitasking is that it can diminish your creativity. When your attention is divided between tasks, you will not have enough working memory to generate ideas and develop creative concepts. Of course, you may complete some assignments on time. However, you will never be able truly to attain greatness in your work.
Multitasking Increases Risk of Mistakes
Evidence points to a logical connection between multitasking and loss of focus. When trying to do more than one thing concurrently, there is always the risk that you will be distracted. When your brain switches rapidly between tasks, the risk of error rises.
Also, recent studies show that multitasking performs poorly when filtering out immaterial information. This means that if you are doing two academic projects simultaneously, there is a high risk of overlapping the tasks. Some of the mistakes can be costly and result in diminished academic performance.
Multitasking is bad for your brain and can also cause you to lose focus and make mistakes. It slows down progress and interrupts workflow. Multitasking is a waste of time and impedes progress. Instead of trying to do several things simultaneously, students should focus on one task at a time. Increase your focus by breaking down large complex tasks into smaller and more manageable portions.
