Media multitasking and memory: Differences in working memory and long-term memory

Abstract

Increasing access to media in the 21st century has led to a rapid rise in the prevalence of media multitasking (simultaneous use of multiple media streams). Such behavior is associated with various cognitive differences, such as difficulty filtering distracting information and increased trait impulsivity. Given the rise in media multitasking by children, adolescents, and adults, a full understanding of the cognitive profile of media multitaskers is imperative. Here we investigated the relationship between chronic media multitasking and working memory (WM) and long-term memory (LTM) performance. Four key findings are reported (1) heavy media multitaskers (HMMs) exhibited lower WM performance, regardless of whether external distraction was present or absent; (2) lower performance on multiple WM tasks predicted lower LTM performance; (3) media multitasking-related differences in memory reflected differences in discriminability rather than decision bias; and (4) attentional impulsivity correlated with media multitasking behavior and reduced WM performance. These findings suggest that chronic media multitasking is associated with a wider attentional scope/higher attentional impulsivity, which may allow goal-irrelevant information to compete with goal-relevant information. As a consequence, heavy media multitaskers are able to hold fewer or less precise goal-relevant representations in WM. HMMs’ wider attentional scope, combined with their diminished WM performance, propagates forward to yield lower LTM performance. As such, chronic media multitasking is associated with a reduced ability to draw on the past—be it very recent or more remote—to inform present behavior.

Media multitasking is associated with distractibility and increased prefrontal activity in adolescents and young adults

“…Furthermore, according to the results of Alzahabi and Becker (2013) as well as those of Sanbonmatsu and colleagues (2013), media multitaskers exhibit declined performance on actual tests of multitasking. Recent studies have also shown that multitasking behavior is positively correlated with higher self-reported impulsivity (Minear et al, 2013;Yang and Zhu, 2015;Uncapher et al, 2015), suggesting that decreased executive control may lead to a tendency to multitask while using technology, or vice versa. Media multitasking has also been shown to be associated with a decrease in grey matter volume in frontal brain regions (in the anterior cingulate cortex; Loh and Kanai, 2014) belonging to the executive attention network (Bush et al, 2000).…”

Impact of adolescent media multitasking on cognition and driving safety

“…MM has been associated with a myriad of outcomes negatively affecting child and adolescent learning and development (Wallis, ), including poor academic assessments (Cain et al, ; Martin‐Perpina, Vinas Poch, & Malo Cerrato, ; Patterson, ); poor attention (Gorman & Green, ), less face‐to‐face communication (Pea et al, ); problems with task switching (Baumgartner, Weeda, van der Heijden, & Huizinga, ; Ophir, Nass, & Wagner, ); problems staying focused (Baumgartner et al, ); lesser growth mindsets (i.e., the belief that intelligence is malleable) (Cain et al, ); difficulty with implicit learning (Edwards & Shin, ); and working memory deficits (Cain et al, ; Ralph, Thomson, Cheyne, & Smilek, ; Uncapher, Thieu, & Wagner, ). MM has also been related to problems with cognitive control (Ophir et al, ); increased distractibility (Baumgartner et al, ; Srivastava et al, ); lower impulsivity control (Baumgartner et al, ; Cain et al, ; Minear, Brasher, McCurdy, Lewis, & Younggren, ; Sanbonmatsu, Strayer, Medeiros‐Ward, & Watson, ; Uncapher et al, ); problems ignoring irrelevant stimuli (Ophir et al, ); and is associated with higher levels of sensation seeking (Sanbonmatsu et al, ).…”

“…Adolescents with EF deficits may have difficulties self‐regulating appropriate times to use media (i.e., while completing homework). MM appears to have negative consequences on executive processes and cognitive control (Ophir et al, ) particularly on tasks involving mental manipulation (e.g., working memory span) (Baumgartner et al, ; Cain et al, ; Uncapher et al, ). Task switching is another EF process that may be impacted by MM.…”

Effects of wakeful resting versus social media usage after learning on the retention of new memories

“…Previous studies have found negative correlations between social media usage and academic performance (Junco, ; Kirschner & Karpinski, ), hours per week spent studying (Rosen, Mark, & Cheever, ), free recall performance (Frein, Jones, & Gerow, ), and self‐reported attentional span (Paul, Baker, & Cochran, ). Studies on media multitasking, that is, simultaneously engaging in two or more types of media and using media while engaging in nonmedia activities (van der Schuur, Baumgartner, Sumter, & Valkenburg, ), often revealed negative relationships between working memory, long‐term memory, and cognitive control (Ophir, Nass, & Wagner, ; Uncapher, Thieu, & Wagner, ), whereas researchers found positive relationships with multisensory integration (Lui & Wong, ). In sum, the majority of studies showed that (social) media usage has detrimental effects on learning and memory.…”

“…engaging in two or more types of media and using media while engaging in nonmedia activities (van der Schuur, Baumgartner, Sumter, & Valkenburg, 2015), often revealed negative relationships between working memory, long-term memory, and cognitive control (Ophir, Nass, & Wagner, 2009;Uncapher, Thieu, & Wagner, 2016), whereas researchers found positive relationships with multisensory integration (Lui & Wong, 2012). In sum, the majority of studies showed that (social) media usage has detrimental effects on learning and memory.…”