Is Multitasking Becoming a Problem for Today's Youth?
"An Internet-linked laptop, one may safely say, is not a life thickener." (Edmundson, 2008, Chronicle of Higher Education).
The quote comes from a witty essay by a University of Virginia professor who believes that his students are spending far too much time multitasking and too little time actually thinking and deliberating about what's really important, not only in their lives but in the world around them. The Internet has turned the globe into a global village, but the villagers are too busy IMing each other to stop and look around them: to see the big picture and to slow down. A handwritten journal, according to the essay, is a life thickener: it takes time to accumulate one and the experience goes a long way towards making a person truly wise. Like the broadband connections that allow them to surf the 'net, today's always-on generation seems to be missing what makes life worth living: stopping once in a while and living deliberately.
Reference:
Edmundson, Mark (2008). "Dwelling in Possibilities", Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. 54, Number 27.
4 comments:
I think this is a very interesting blog article. Truthfully, I haven't sat back and thought about my personal usage of the Internet, and what's truly important. I think many people have taken our technology for granted, which has caused laziness, a loss of real, labor intensive work, and for the most part, meaningful work. Before technology, we had to physically attain information by way of libraries, news articles, etc. and now we can have all of it in the click of a button.
I believe multitasking is a huge problem for all ages. We overwhelm ourselves with all of things that need to be done instead of just focusing on one thing at a time and getting it done. I have heard that people stress more about the list of things they need to do instead of what they are actually doing.
I think multitasking helps some people to pay attention on what they are doing. Some businesses use multitask procedures to stay competitive on the market; this is a benefit for employees who constantly increase their knowledge and improve their skills. Now, online users are multitasking more than ever by integrating a variety of tasks.
I believe multitasking and the emphasis society places on one's ability to do so successfully definitely has affected today's youth.
Our children spend so much time participating in various activities, surfing the web, and sending IMs that when they actually have to sit still, it is almost impossible for them to do so. I also believe it is a contributing factor to stress and depression, so to provide balance in the lives of my own children, I restrict the amount of time they spend on the internet and I limit their extra curricular activities. I have also deemed Friday nights as "family" night, so we sit around and play board and card games(nothing electronic). My children and I really enjoy it, and it gives us all an opportunity to relax and just enjoy each other.
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