We are increasingly becoming tech savvy, sometimes by choice; at other times by compulsion, but a new study suggests that multitasking (such as frequently switching between SMSs, emails and tweets) could take a toll on our mental health.
Researchers at California University have claimed that the latest gadgets could be damaging people’s minds by bombarding them with too much information from multiple sources, and also weakening their ability to screen irrelevant data and prioritise what is important, the ‘San Fransico Chronicle’ reported.
The study has found that multitasking can also hamper short-term memory performance, especially among older people.
Moreover, there are concerns over the possibility of technology addiction, which can be observed in cases where people get restless when their phone’s battery is low or when they misplace their phones.
In their study, they found that multi-taskers performed worst in tests where they had to jump from one task to another, suggesting that they were easily distracted by irrelevant information.
The researchers quoted other researches that show people are spending more time connected to a keyboard.
The lethal combination has forced some scientists to call for a “technology diet” to prevent information overload.
Dr Elias Aboujaoude, director of Stanford’s Impulse Control Disorders Clinic, was quoted by the ‘Daily Mail’ as saying, “The best way to define it is in terms of the offline consequences. Are we suffering in terms of our cognition and attention spans because of all the time we spend online?