Psychological and digital factors of student attitudes towards multitasking

Introduction. Despite the evidence from the cognitive approach that performance decreases under multitasking conditions, multitasking is increasingly seen as an important skill to develop, especially among young people. Aim. The present research aims to reveal personal (personal traits, satisfaction of basic needs) and digital (user activity, combined activity, attitude to technology, digital competence) factors of subjective assessment of multitasking in students and their attitude to multitasking. Methodology and research methods. In the course of the research, 260 students of Moscow universities answered questions about their multitasking and their attitude to it, and then filled out the scales for assessing subjective well-being, attitudes towards learning, personal traits, basic psychological needs, user and combined activity, attitudes to technology, digital competence and the desire for digitalisation of education. The data were processed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation analysis, group comparison methods (Pearson’s Chi-square, Student’s t-test). Results. According to the estimates of the students, they spend almost half of their daytime combining different activities. Most of students consider multitasking as a useful skill and would like to improve it. Higher multitasking scores are associated with greater conscientiousness, openness to experience, competence, positive emotions, as well as technophilia, digital skills. The desire to improve own multitasking is higher among students with a higher level of combined activity, technophilia, technorationality, as well as among students, who higher estimate the opportunities of digitalisation in education. Two out of three students consider multitasking as a useful ability; every second student thinks that multitasking can be developed by training. Multitasking and the desire to improve it are related to the attitude towards multitasking as a trained and developed skill, while the idea of its usefulness or uniqueness is practically not related to psychological and digital factors. Further research may be aimed at revealing relationships between subjective multitasking with activity diary data and experimentally organised multitasking. Scientific novelty. The attitude to multitasking format among young people was investigated from the perspective of a comprehensive approach, which combines personal characteristics and peculiarities of online activity. Practical significance. The peculiarities of students’ attitudes towards multitasking as a personal choice of doing several things simultaneously, reflecting among other things a positive attitude towards multitasking and a desire to develop it, can become a significant component to develop educational programmes, as well as important knowledge to provide interaction between teachers and students under the conditions of digitalisation in education.Введение. Несмотря на данные когнитивного подхода о снижении продуктивности при одновременном выполнении нескольких дел, многозадачность все чаще рассматривается как важный развиваемый навык, особенно среди молодежи. Целью исследования является выявление личностных (личностные особенности, удовлетворенность базовых потребностей) и цифровых (пользовательская активность, совмещенная активность, отношение к технологиям, цифровая компетентность) факторов субъективной оценки многозадачности у студентов и их отношения к многозадачности. Методология, методы и методики. 260 студентов московских вузов отвечали на вопросы о своей многозадачности и отношении к ней, а затем заполняли шкалы оценки субъективного благополучия, отношения к учебе, личностных особенностей, базовых психологических потребностей, пользовательской и совмещенной активности, отношения к технологиям, цифровой компетентности и стремления к цифровизации образования. Данные обрабатывались при помощи методов описательной статистики, корреляционного анализа Пирсона, методов сравнения групп (Хи-квадрат Пирсона, t-критерий Стьюдента). Результаты. По оценкам студентов, почти половину времени бодрствования они проводят, совмещая решение разных задач. В целом студенты хотели бы улучшить свою способность к многозадачности, рассматривая ее как полезное умение. Более высокие оценки своей многозадачности у них связаны с большей добросовестностью, открытостью опыту, компетентностью, положительными эмоциями, а также технофилией, цифровыми навыками. Стремление улучшить свою компетентность выше у студентов с более высоким уровнем совмещенной активности, технофилии, технорациональности, а также у студентов, которые выше оценивают возможности цифровизации образования. Двое из трех студентов считают многозадачность полезной способностью, каждый второй – что ее можно развивать тренировкой. Многозадачность и стремление ее улучшить определяются отношением к многозадачности как тренируемому и развиваемому умению, тогда как представления о ее полезности и уникальности практически не связаны с психологическими и цифровыми факторами. Дальнейшие исследования могут быть направлены на сопоставление субъективной многозадачности с данными дневниковых исследований и экспериментально организованной многозадачностью. Научная новизна. Было исследовано отношение к формату многозадачности у молодых людей сквозь призму комплексного подхода, сочетающего личностные особенности и особенности онлайн-активности. Практическая значимость. Особенности отношения к формату многозадачности как личному выбору выполнения нескольких дел одновременно, отражающие в том числе позитивное отношение к многозадачности и желание ее развивать, могут стать значимой составляющей разработки образовательных программ, а также важным знанием при взаимодействии педагогов и студентов в условиях цифровизации образования.Исследование выполнено за счет гранта Российского фонда фундаментальных исследований (проект № 19-29-14181мк «Многозадачность в структуре цифровой социализации: когнитивные и личностные факторы эффективности в контексте цифровизации общего образования»). Авторы выражают признательность рецензентам, которые работали с этой статьей.This study was funded by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project no. 19-29-14181mk “Multitasking in the Structure of Digital Socialisation: Cognitive and Personal Efficiency Factors in the Context of digitalisation of General Education”). The authors thank the reviewers for taking the time and effort necessary to review the manuscript

Uses and gratifications of multiscreen news consumption among Spanish youth

This paper aims to describe how Spanish youth use multiscreen in a news search context, and what are the gratifications they obtain through this multichannel model. A survey was responded by a panel of 441 individuals representative of the national population in an 18-35 age range. Five gratifications were found: the desire to obtain “information in real time,” “social interaction,” “comprehension,” “leisure,” and “habit.” The desire to obtain “information in real time” predicts multiscreen use behavior when searching for news. Moreover, three factors are relevant when predicting the duration of multiscreen use: “information in real time,” “social interaction,” and “leisure.”Este artículo tiene como objetivo describir cómo los jóvenes españoles utilizan la multipantalla en un contexto de búsqueda de noticias y cuáles son las gratificaciones que obtienen a través de este modelo multicanal. Se realizó una encuesta que fue respondida por un panel de 441 individuos representativos de la población nacional en un rango de edad de 18 a 35 años. Se encontraron cinco gratificaciones: el deseo de obtener “información en tiempo real”, “interacción social”, “comprensión”, “ocio” y “hábito”. El deseo de obtener “información en tiempo real” predice el comportamiento de uso de múltiples pantallas en la búsqueda de noticias. Además, tres factores son relevantes al predecir la duración del uso de múltiples pantallas: “información en tiempo real”, “interacción social” y “ocio”

Digital media use and impact questionnaire : contributions towards its development

The present study is part of the Media Activity and Mental Health project and aimed to contribute to the development of the Digital Media Use and Impact questionnaire (DMUIq). The three specific aims were: 1) to characterise the use of digital media (DM) in a sample of Portuguese adolescents; 2) to contribute to the development of the Portuguese version of the Media Multitasking Scale (MMS); and 3) to study the psychometric properties of the DMUIq. This study involved a sample of 171 youths aged between 11 and 16 (M age = 13.67; SD= 1.07), from two schools in the north of Portugal. Results demonstrated that youths spent more hours on (DM) on a typical weekend day than on a typical weekday, social media was the activity most performed on a typical weekday. The Portuguese version of the MMS demonstrated being a reliable and consistent instrument to investigate how youths use DM. The experimental version of DMUIq also demonstrated being a practical, valid, and reliable screening tool to assess the impact that DM has upon youths.O presente estudo faz parte do projeto “Media Activity and Mental Health” e teve como objetivo contribuir para o desenvolvimento do Digital Media Use and Impact questionnaire (DMUIq). Os três objetivos específicos foram: 1) caracterizar a utilização de meios de comunicação eletrónicos (MCE) numa amostra de adolescentes portugueses; 2) contribuir para o desenvolvimento da versão portuguesa da Media Multitasking Scale (MMS); e 3) estudar as propriedades psicométricas do DMUIq. Este estudo envolveu uma amostra de 171 jovens com idades compreendidas entre os 11 e os 16 anos (idade M = 13,67; DP= 1,07), de duas escolas do norte de Portugal. Os resultados demonstraram que os jovens passam mais horas nos MCE num dia típico de fim de semana comparado a um dia típico de semana, a rede social foi a atividade mais realizada num dia típico de semana. A versão em português do MMS demonstrou ser um instrumento confiável e consistente para investigar como os jovens usam os MCE. A versão experimental do DMUIq também demonstrou ser uma ferramenta de screening prática, válida e confiável para avaliar o impacto que os MCE têm sobre os jovens

Investigating the relation between boredom and media multitasking

Media multitasking entails simultaneously engaging in multiple tasks when at least one of the tasks is based in media. Despite the abundance of research devoted to understanding the antecedents of media multitasking, little research has focused directly on what might be the most common trigger of media multitasking: boredom. Across two studies, we tested the assumption that state boredom leads to media multitasking by manipulating participants’ levels of boredom using video mood inductions prior to administering an attention-demanding 2-back task during which participants could media multitask by playing a task-irrelevant video. Experiment 1 also explored whether individual differences in trait boredom proneness predict the extent to which participants media multitask in the lab. We found no direct evidence for the view that state boredom leads to media multitasking. However, trait boredom proneness predicted greater amounts of media multitasking in Experiment 1. Unexpectedly, in both experiments, post-task ratings of boredom were equivalent regardless of mood induction condition, alerting us to the short-lived effects of video mood inductions and the boring nature of cognitive tasks. The implications of our findings are discussed in detail

Digital Intervention for Problematic Smartphone Use in Undergraduate University Students: A Systematic Case Series

Introduction: Smartphones have become the primary device for accessing the online world. The potential for smartphone use to become problematic is increasingly recognised, with students at particular risk due to their high usage and reliance. There is limited research evaluating interventions for problematic smartphone use. The present research aimed to develop and evaluate a digital intervention for problematic smartphone use in the student population. Method: A mixed-methods case series design was used to evaluate the acceptability and impact of the intervention for ten participants. The intervention included: goal setting, personalised feedback, mindfulness and behavioural suggestions. Participants were asked to complete self-report measures of problematic phone use, online dependency, mindfulness, wellbeing, psychological distress, sleep and self-determination. Participants’ phone use and sleep were also measured directly. Results: The results provide evidence for the intervention package reducing problematic smartphone use, although there was no observable impact on overall screen time. There was some evidence of positive influences upon online dependency, mindfulness, wellbeing, and sleep. No particular component of the intervention seemed more effective than the others. Discussion: The findings suggest that the intervention package is both effective and acceptable to students wishing to better manage their problematic smartphone use

The role of mobile smartphones manifested in the job crafting behaviors of millennial generation professionals working in a public sector agency

Smartphones have come to play an important role in the way we manage and organize our work-life activities and responsibilities. Likewise, significant shifts in workforce demographics are prompting greater attention to the workplace needs of a new, dominant generation: Millennials. Yet, there appears to be a disparity in our understanding of why and how this generation is using Smartphones in their daily work habits that may alter their work and social environment at work. This presents a problem for organizations and HRD practitioners grappling between conventional wisdom governing the workplace; and the reality, cleverness, and resourcefulness of people using Smartphones for work-life activities. The purpose of this study was to explore these two forces from the lens of job crafting theory to understand why and Millennials use their Smartphones in their daily work habits and how job features and individual orientations regulate their perceived opportunity to use their devices to job craft. This study used qualitative methodology employing the use of ethnographic techniques, a three-tiered semi-structured interview procedure, and other items in the data collection and thematic analysis process. To inform existing theory, this study framed the analysis and results within the five constructs of the job crafting framework; producing 12 core themes and 24 corresponding sub-themes related to the use of Smartphones in the daily work habits of the study participants. A thorough discussion with implications for HRD research and practice are addressed in addition to limitations. This study concludes Smartphones do not define Millennials; however, these devices may play an important supportive role in individual job crafting, an essential cog in the wheel of their daily work habits and life experiences. Thus, a subordinate, but integral part in how these individuals satisfy their work/life needs, experience meaningfulness and purpose, make sense of their worlds, and their place within them