Facebook and texting made me do it: Media-induced task-switching while studying

By Larry D. Rosen, L. Mark Carrier, Nancy A. Cheever. Computers in Human Behavior, 2013

858 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Electronic communication is emotionally gratifying, but how do such technological distractions impact academic learning? The current study observed 263 middle school, high school and university students studying for 15min in their homes. Observers noted technologies present and computer windows open in the learning environment prior to studying plus a minute-by-minute assessment of on-task behavior, off-task technology use and open computer windows during studying. A questionnaire assessed study strategies, task-switching preference, technology attitudes, media usage, monthly texting and phone calling, social networking use and grade point average (GPA). Participants averaged less than six minutes on task prior to switching most often due to technological distractions including social media, texting and preference for task-switching. Having a positive attitude toward technology did not affect being on-task during studying. However, those who preferred to task-switch had more distracting technologies available and were more likely to be off-task than others. Also, those who accessed Facebook had lower GPAs than those who avoided it. Finally, students with relatively high use of study strategies were more likely to stay on-task than other students. The educational implications include allowing students short ''technology breaks'' to reduce distractions and teaching students metacognitive strategies regarding when interruptions negatively impact learning.

Subfields: Education, Information Systems and Management, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/2b49b7ed420409ac40f2820ae3c3f160f2fd4918

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Citations in the corpus

Relationships among smartphone addiction, stress, academic performance, and satisfaction with life (2016, background): “In a sample of 263 US students between 11 and 25 years old, those who used Facebook and texted while studying had lower GPAs than students who did not (Rosen et al., 2013).”
Analysis of nomofobic behaviors of adolescents regarding various factors (2016, background): “Moreover, some studies in the literature suggested that there is a negative relationship between students’ academic performance and mobile phone use (Judd, 2014, Karpinski et al., 2013; Rosen et al., 2013, Samaha & Hawi, 2016; Wentworth & Middleton, 2014; Kibona & Mgaya, 2015).”
Personality, fear of missing out and problematic internet use and their relationship to subjective well-being (2017, background): “Rosen et al (2013) found that the iGeneration (individuals born in the 1990’s and early 2000’s) check their social media accounts on average every 15 minutes (Rosaten et al, 2013).”
Social Media Use, Engagement and Addiction as Predictors of Academic Performance (2015, background): “More recently, Rosen et al. (2013) studied the behavior of middle school, high school and college students and observed that participants were distracted by media like Facebook and texting in less than 6 minutes after the start of a studying session.”
The consequences of media multitasking for youth: A review (2015, neutral): “…(Beentjes, Koolstra, & Van der Voort, 1996; Pool, Koolstra, & Van der Voort, 2003a, 2003b; Pool, Van der Voort, Beentjes, & Koolstra, 2000), one study focused on pre-adolescents (Fetler, 1984), and one study focused on both adolescents and emerging adults (Rosen, Carrier, & Cheever, 2013).”
The Effects of Boredom, Loneliness, and Distress Tolerance on Problem Internet Use Among University Students (2016, background): “Removing technological distractions is an obvious preventative strategy, but is highly impractical given that the internet and computers are needed for most kinds of study (cf., Rosen et al. 2013).”
The Relationship Between Cell Phone Use and Academic Performance in a Sample of U.S. College Students (2015, methodology): “(Rosen et al., 2013), both of which are negatively related to academic performance.”
The Media and Technology Usage and Attitudes Scale: An empirical investigation (2013, methodology): “, 2013), number of times logging onto Facebook on a typical day (Hunt et al., 2012; Junco, 2012a, 2012b; Kittinger, Correia, & Irons, 2012; Locatelli, Kluwe, & Bryant, 2012; McAndrew & Jeong, 2012; McKinney, Kelly, & Duran, 2012; Moore & McElroy, 2012; Oldmeadow, Quinn, & Kowert, 2012; Rosen et al.,”
Social Media Use in Higher Education: A Review (2018, background): “Moreover, students use online social network (OSN) platforms daily from 10 to 60 min on average [23], even when studying [24].”
The Relationship Between Media Multitasking and Attention Problems in Adolescents: Results of Two Longitudinal Studies (2017, background): “Social media multitasking has been shown to be particularly detrimental for some outcome variables, such as academic performance (Junco & Cotten, 2011; Rosen et al., 2013).”