Too many tabs – why some people can multitask online and others can’t (2024)
The internet may be the most comprehensive source of information ever created but it’s also the biggest distraction. Set out to find an answer on the web and it’s all too easy to find yourself flitting between multiple tabs, wondering how you ended up on a page so seemingly irrelevant to the topic you started on.
Past research has shown that we have a very limited capacity to perform two or more tasks at the same time and brainpower suffers when we try. But my new study suggests that some people are better at multitasking online than others. Being able to switch between multiple web pages and to find what you want all comes down to how good your working memory is.
Working memory is the part of the brain responsible for the storage and processing of information, decision making, and planning. It is responsible for the attention, quality, and quantity of information that is stored and processed in both the short and long-term memory. Many psychologists describe working memory as the ability to retain a specific amount of information while intervening with other information or tasks.
Previous studies have suggested that working memory plays an important role in multitasking. For example, one study showed interruptions reduced people’s ability to multitask. This suggests our working memory can only hold a limited amount of information at any one time, limiting our capacity to think about multiple things at once.
My new research focuses on, among other things, how people’s different levels of working memory influence their multitasking behaviour while using the web. I assessed the working memory of 30 students using an automated operation span test that asked them to remember a series of written characters while solving maths questions. I then asked them to use the web to research four topics of their choice, two they had prior knowledge of and two they didn’t. This was particularly important as research has shown that having prior knowledge of a subject means you can study it with less effort from your working memory.
I found that participants with high working memory switched between their information topics and web search results more often than those with low working memory. This seemed to enable them to test and retest different strategies for finding the answers they wanted. This means that they were able to divert more of their attention between different tasks.
The people with high working memory also reported that they were able to coordinate existing and new knowledge, multiple topics and deal with interruptions more easily. And they had a better grasp of trying different strategies, such as using different search engines, formulating search queries, evaluating webpages and saving results.
What’s more, those with low working memory capacity thought the previously unfamiliar topics they were researching became more complex as they went on. They also reported that they could not generate more strategies to complete the task or evaluate and judge the content of the webpages they were looking at in the same way as they did for the topics they had prior knowledge.
Attention limits
This research confirms previous studies that have suggested that people with low working memories have more limited abilities to keep their attention on relevant information. More specifically, it also suggests that people with low working memory cannot easily give their attention to different pieces of information in a way that would allow them to effectively multitask. This is especially true for topics they have no prior knowledge of.
What all this means is that people with low working memory abilities probably don’t find multitasking as easy as they would like. Luckily, there are ways to expand your working memory capacity through practice and exercise. For example, Cogmed Working Memory Training involves completing tasks such as remembering visual sequences for rewards, and has been linked with enhancements in working memory in children and adults.
But technology has the greatest impact when it is designed around its users’ abilities and limitations – not when people have to train themselves to use it. For example, elderly people or people with cognitive impairments such as dementia often see a decline in their working memory. My research shows that these people will have to work harder when they search for information on the web, especially for topics that have no prior knowledge of. Understanding this could help lead to better website or browser designs for these groups, and helps to build their confidence online.
Being able to switch between multiple web pages and to find what you want all comes down to how good your working memory is. Working memory is the part of the brain responsible for the storage and processing of information, decision making, and planning.
Turns out, our brains literally aren't wired to do more than one thing at a time. Even when it feels like you're getting two tasks done at once, what you're actually doing is switching between two tasks at lightning speed. This process—called task switching—takes precious brainpower, even if you don't realize it.
A study by Vanderbilt University found that multitasking is largely limited by "the speed with which our prefrontal cortex processes information." Paul E. Dux, the co-author of the study, believes that this process can become faster through proper training.
We have a hard time multitasking because of the ways that our building blocks of attention and executive control inherently work. To this end, when we attempt to multitask, we are usually switching between one task and another. The human brain has evolved to single task.
Although many people consider themselves effective multitaskers, the truth is that studies have shown that only about 2.5% of people are able to multitask effectively. Humans are designed to be “monotaskers”, meaning to work only on one task at a time.
On one hand, the nature of ADHD, including difficulties with attention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity, can make it difficult to effectively juggle multiple tasks simultaneously. This can result in decreased efficiency, increased errors, and difficulties in organizing thoughts and actions.
The frequent multitaskers performed worse because they had more trouble organizing their thoughts and filtering out irrelevant information, and they were slower at switching from one task to another. Ouch. Multitasking reduces your efficiency and performance because your brain can only focus on one thing at a time.
Multitasking may make you think you're being incredibly productive, yet the opposite is true. Multitasking has been proved to have major negative consequences on human brain function in research. A recent Stanford University study found that concentrating on a single task is more productive than multitasking.
We found no differences between men and women in terms of serial multitasking abilities. We cannot exclude the possibility that there are no sex differences in serial multitasking abilities, but if they do exist, such differences are likely to be very small.
Executive dysfunction is a symptom that happens with conditions that disrupt your brain's ability to control thoughts, emotions and behavior. It's common with conditions like ADHD, but can also happen due to brain damage or degenerative brain diseases.
But did you know that for most people, in most situations, multitasking isn't actually possible? We're really wired to be monotaskers, meaning that our brains can only focus on one task at a time, says neuropsychologist Cynthia Kubu, PhD.
The prefrontal cortex has been frequently implicated as a brain region that mediates multitasking and the switching processes. Multitasking is commonly shown to impair cognitive performance, as each switch results in a reduction in performance compared to doing one task at a time.
Psychologists who study what happens to cognition (mental processes) when people try to perform more than one task at a time have found that the mind and brain were not designed for heavy-duty multitasking.
A study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, however, indicates the opposite. The authors found that multitasking is actually less efficient because it takes extra time to shift mental gears every time a person switches between tasks.
Introduction: My name is Nicola Considine CPA, I am a determined, witty, powerful, brainy, open, smiling, proud person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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