By Marcus Canton
How can multitasking affect teens? New studies claim that multitasking could create problems with teens’ abilities to focus and develop analytical skills. However, teens believe multitasking makes them more productive and lowers stress levels.
Neuroscientists are concerned that teenagers’ brain development will be affected by multitasking. The main problem they find is the knowledge attained. While multitasking it’s almost impossible to go into depth and gain deep knowledge. Neuroscientists worry that teens will become accustomed to basic-level answers and knowledge. Focusing on multiple tasks at once takes away your full attention. In doing so teens are not getting the best understanding of each task. Even though teens believe that multitasking is the most productive way to finish tasks, research shows it can really hinder brain development.
A study was conducted to dive deeper into the issue. One group was multitasking, organizing cards, and identifying high-pitched sounds, while another group did the two tasks separately. The study showed that different parts of the brain were active during the experiment. The group who wasn’t multitasking activated the hippocampus, a part of the brain for recalling and storing information. However, it wasn’t active for the multitaskers. They activated the striatum which is for repetitive skills. It was determined that the multitaskers weren’t getting the same understanding or knowledge as those who did one task at a time.
Overall the worry is how multitasking could have negative effects on a teen’s brain. As more studies come out things could change however, at the moment multitasking could be a cause for concern.
