The Multitasking Mess
By Carol Mithers
(Article from UCLA Magazine, January 2007; http://magazine.ucla.edu/)
Hey, 2007 Parent — Wuz up w/yr kid rt now? NM? Just doing HW? And like, of course, talking 2 ppl. Maybe 5 or 6 on IM. Plus yea, texting 2 more.
Typical, right? Most kids today do their homework with only one eye on the book. The other’s on the computer screen, watching for Instant Messages or MySpace updates; meanwhile, fingers are tapping out return messages, and the steady beat of music coming through iPod earbuds is interrupted only by the regular pinging of cell phones announcing new text messages. A recent Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg Poll found that 53 percent of kids 12–17 did at least one other thing while studying, while 21 percent performed three other tasks simultaneously. (more…)
