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Thesis Statement
This paper will review the ideas of other authors on multitasking when using given technological devices. It will be based on observations drawn from how people try to switch from different technological devices either to keep in touch with peers, listen to music or follow certain programs on TV. Due to changes in lifestyles and technological innovation, present day life calls for the ability to handle more than one activity at the same time in order to accomplish more tasks within the same time. Lack of this ability could make people fall behind.
This paper establishes that it is easier to multitask when using given devices than when using others. Multitasking e.g. speaking on phone while crossing or driving has been linked to many traffic accidents; a person talking on phone may engage his or her mind fully to the conversation and forget all about the oncoming motorists (Goodall et al, 2009). Therefore, understanding what devices to use and how it affects other operations is very important.
Why People Multi-task
There are two basic reasons why people multitask. For instance, individuals multitask because what they are currently doing is not interesting any more or because they expect new information from the other channels. Ophir et al (2009, p.5) suggests that this behavior is more prominent among young people and attributes it to “attraction to new information.”
A few older people who multi-task are in the habit because of the urge to switch between old information and new information. This habit, it’s argued, is slowly causing people to develop dependency to machines. Ophir et al (2009, p. 3) assert that the habit will make “people lose empathy as most of the time they are stuck to digital devices looking for information.”
There are two opposing arguments about multitasking; one supports multi-tasking pointing out that the practice improves our social links (Goodall et al, 2009, p. 57). The second school of thought is opposed to multi-tasking based on the fact that it reduces direct human interaction.
The instant messenger on the blackberry for example is thought to be an addictive practice that and may not allow one to multi task well. Dependence can also result from repeated use of other digital devices such as; ipads and Bluetooth (Goodall et al, 2009, p. 64). There is a craze to have the most modern communication technology gadget. However, considering the impact of the different gadgets on an individual, it is important to approach new gadgets more cautiously.
When the internet became the new way of doing things, many people jumped at becoming e-savvy. However, Wilkinson (2008, p. 23) shows the bad impact of new innovation has on personal life and interpersonal relationships. Wilkinson (2008) points out that on the onset of internet, some men became more married to the internet than to their wives.
Due to new gadget and internet taking over people’s time, many marriages are strained (Wilkinson, 2008, p. 38). This case alone is not conclusive i.e. one cannot use it to term use of all new innovative gadgets as harmful. Other internet users, Wilkinson (2008) further explains, have registered that the internet enhances their personal and even marital relations through instant messaging, emails and chats.
The fascination with instant messaging, enabled by devices like the blackberry, leads to individuals getting too engrossed to an extent that individuals may not realize or what is going on in their immediate environment or surroundings. When one is chatting with another via instant messaging on a blackberry, there is pressure or demand to write back in answer to the person on the other side quickly.
One also feels pressured or the need to compose the best questions and answers thus getting really engrossed. The action becomes even more engrossing or draws one to oneself even more when one is chatting or interacting with more than one person.
Since the blackberry presents a channel through which one can access a lot of information of varied nature, than other digital device such as a radio or television, the level of multi-tasking when using it is lower than say when one is relying on other devices like the radio or TV for information or entertainment.
Just like in the case of drug addicts, Ophir et al (2009) points out that the human brain if exposed to a constant flow of information from an electronic device develops tolerance to this flow. If the flow is stopped, the mind triggers a signal to seek for more information. This is what happens to somebody using instant messenger on a blackberry. The same person becomes interested to follow a program either on radio, TV or listen to music from a Bluetooth.
Wilkinson (2008) is in agreement with Ophir et al (2009 and points out that instant messaging on a blackberry limits what one can engage in at the same time. Multi-tasking is near impossible when one is using gadgets like the blackberry because the human mind has limitations on what it can do.
He emphasizes that the human mind responds voluntarily to the information available in the surroundings. It is important to seek for the equilibrium in this scenario so as to avoid being addicted to practices like instant messaging. The best way to do this, Tyson and Cooper (2010) suggest, is to switch off the media that is a source of novel and exciting information e.g. the blackberry for some time. It is important to disconnect the brain from the flow of the information for some time to give it a break.
Conclusion
Research, as discussed by Ophir et al (2009), indicates that human beings have a tendency to drift towards forms of powerful technologies. The blackberry being one of the powerful communication gadgets of our time pulls or glues many people.
The radio and TV have been there for some time; we have interacted with them and are tired of them. Another digital device more powerful than the blackberry may render the blackberry less usable again. However, as people take to new gadgets, it is important for them to appreciate how all the new gadgets affect them.
Reference List
Goodall, S., Goodall, H. L. & Schiefelbein, J. (2009). Business and Professional Communication in the Global Workplace. 3rd Eds. London: Cengage Learning
Ophir, E., Nass, C. & Wagner, A. D. (2009). “Cognitive Control in Media Multitaskers”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS, 106 (33), 1-5
Tyson, J. & Cooper, A. (2010). How Instant Messaging Works. Retrieved from https://computer.howstuffworks.com/e-mail-messaging/instant-messaging.htm
Wilkinson, K. (2008). The Happiness Factor: How to Be Happy No Matter What! Texas: BookPros, LLC
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