Research to be presented by high school students at AAP conference reveals that some adolescents adept at media …
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
10-Oct-2014
Contact: Debbie Jacobson djacobson@aap.org 847-434-7084 American Academy of Pediatrics @AmerAcadPeds
SAN DIEGO Telling youths who are juggling multiple electronic devices to "focus on the task at hand" may not always be good advice, according to research to be presented by two high school students on Saturday, Oct. 11 at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference & Exhibition.
Sarayu Caulfield and Alexandra Ulmer, seniors at Oregon Episcopal School in Portland, Ore., will present their study "Capacity Limits of Working Memory: The Impact of Media Multitasking on Cognitive Control in the Adolescent Mind" from 1-1:30 p.m. in Marina Ballroom Salon E at the San Diego Marriott Marquis.
Contrary to popular belief that multitasking leads to poor performance, the young researchers found the opposite is true for adolescents who spend a lot of time switching between media devices and tasks.
"Maybe practice really does make perfect," Ms. Ulmer said.
"In our current multimedia environment, there are people who are multitasking at an exceedingly high rate, and the reality is that they may have become really good at it," Ms. Caulfield added.
To study how media multitasking affects adolescents' ability to process information, the young researchers recruited 196 females and 207 males ages 10-19. All participants answered questions about their daily media habits and completed the Stanford Multitasking Media Index, which assesses how often a person multitasks (e.g., texts, instant messages and emails at the same time).
Participants then completed tests to assess their ability to switch between tasks and to focus on a single task. They were randomly assigned to complete these tasks sequentially with no distractions (non-multitasking) or simultaneously with auditory, visual and cognitive distractions such as responding to emails (multitasking).
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Research to be presented by high school students at AAP conference reveals that some adolescents adept at media ...