New Study Finds that Media Multitasking Impairs Memory in Young Adults

In the modern era, the average smartphone-carrying human is constantly bombarded with a deluge of information in the form of social media, messages, and other distractions. Humans crave the gratification they receive from continually checking their phone while simultaneously watching TV and Skyping with a friend, priding themselves in their multitasking ability. However, the bulky, modern brain has remained relatively unchanged compared to hundreds of thousands of years ago; that is, it has inherently been fine tuned to only focus on one task at a time. But as we continue to pummel our brain with multiple types of digital information, it becomes apparent to scientists that such consumption can have severe and worrisome effects; and a new study published in Nature Magazine on October 28, 2020 outlines how media multitasking can specifically disrupt memory (Stetka, 2020; Huber, 2018).

The authors, who were from Stanford University and the University of California San Francisco, concluded that media multitasking—or engaging with multiple types of digital devices or screen-based media simultaneously—may prevent the proper use of attention in young adults, impairing their ability to recall situations and experiences. The researchers came to this finding by performing a study on 80 young adults between the ages of 18 and 26. These participants were presented with images on a computer screen and asked to classify the pleasantness or size of the objects. Then after a 10 minute break, the subjects were presented with additional objects and asked to identify whether they had already been classified or were new. The scientists, utilizing electroencephalography (a technique that tracks brain activity), analyzed the brain and eye responses of the subjects while they were in the process of remembering and specifically identified the number of lapses in their concentration. These findings were then compared to the results of a questionnaire the participants filled out regarding their everyday attention, mind wandering and media multitasking (Stetka, 2020).

The scientists discovered that participants who reported a higher engagement in media multitasking via the survey correlated with an increased tendency to lose concentration and decreased pupil diameter, a known marker for reduced attention. Additionally, the researchers found that increased attention gaps prior to the act of remembering were linked to a higher likelihood of forgetting past images and reduced brain-signal patterns connected with episodic memory—the recall of specific experiences and events. Although previous studies had already illuminated the inimical relationship between media multitasking and impaired episodic memory, these new findings offer clues as to what explicitly causes it. It found evidence that an individual’s ability to sustain attention is the missing link between media multitasking and poor memory: heavy media multitasking lowers the chance of maintaining attention, which has been linked to worse memory (Stetka, 2020).

The implications of this study have impressed psychologists around the world, including Daphne Bavelier of the University of Geneva in Switzerland, who said that the study elucidates why individuals vary in attention span; and Daniel L. Schacter of Harvard University, who said that the findings inform psychologists about the relationship between memory and attention, and their link to everyday behavior (Stetka, 2020). Furthermore, with the COVID-19 pandemic keeping people at home and winter looming, the study offers critical advice and stresses the need to be mindful of how we spend our time with the media. And although the findings do not suggest halting digital media wholly (as previous studies have shown some forms of media, such as action video games, actually improve brain function), it is essential to increase our awareness of our own media multitasking. Overall, if more research is put into this area—as the authors of the study wish to do in the future—the impacts of media multitasking would be fully revealed, and the everyday lives of human beings in the currently media-oriented society would be greatly altered (Stetka, 2020; Huber, 2018).