“Myth of Multitasking”/Christine Rosen
Summary: Christine Rosen, in her article “The Myth of Multitasking”, comments on the effects of multitasking. Rosen’s purpose is to convey the idea that multitasking and self-distractions are harmful to one’s well-being, and makes it difficult to gain knowledge when a person’s attention is split in multiple places. Everyone multitasks; some use it more often than other people. Rosen writes this article to prove her theory that multitasking is disadvantageous to one’s self. She validates her position through examples of studies done by psychologists and neurologists.
Paragraph # 15: Today, our group’s will to focus appears to be genuinely frail. We require counsel from books to show us how to evade distractions.…show more content… She focuses on its efficiency, or lack thereof, and its effects on people’s cognitive state. Rosen makes a point that multi-tasking’s harmful outcomes outweigh its perceived advantages. Some multi-tasking activities are illegal due to their possible harmful results, such as driving while using a cell phone. The distractions caused by multi-tasking affect one’s ability to focus on the road as well as in the workplace and the economy. Multi-tasking “costs the U.S. economy $650 billion a year in lost productivity,” all due to the time lost in recovery after an interference caused to employees that deter them from their original tasks (Rosen). The studies and facts Rosen includes are strong assets to her argument. Through bringing in information from psychologists and neurologists, one can look at the facts rather than discredit her opinion. When it comes to multi-tasking, almost everyone has personal experience that seems to go against the scientific studies. Russell Poldrack contributes that “we’re driving ourselves to perhaps be less efficient in the long run even though it sometimes feels like we’re being more efficient” (Rosen). It is difficult to realize that multi-tasking’s disadvantages outweigh its advantages, because through personal experiences, one can only see the