This
article is yet another I have read in a series poo-pooing the perceived benefits of multi-tasking. This article is almost always written by someone in their mid-thirties or later and talks of some bad incident they had with multi-tasking that must mean that it is bad for everyone. Usually supported by some scientific studies to be sure, it is their hypothesis that multi-tasking is the digital equivalent of the "Jack of all trades, master of none" idiom. Often "the children" are brought up as those that see MT'ing as the wave of the future but are so woefully misguided that they are obviously wrong in their assumptions. It is a wonder that these authors can't see their own arrogance for what it is.
I have said it before and I will say it again, there are a lot of humans. Meaning that while generalizations about the human psyche and brain can be made the way people handle tasks and life on a day to day basis is pretty varied. It is possible that while some may see MT'ing as a waste of time or a way to screw up two things at once, in actuality it should be judged on an individual basis. Because YOU can't check a text message and focus on the road you are driving on at the same time does not mean that others can't do those two tasks perfectly fine (and why do you have to check the message right away, as soon as you receive it??). While splitting the brain into two tasks might be detrimental to many, it does not mean it is detrimental to all. Whether people like it or not, technology is allowing us to do more things at once than we ever did, this is not always good but it certainly does not spell DOOM for those who choose to believe in MT'ing philosophies. I often watch tv and listen to music, an act I find really enjoyable and relaxing. I can chat with two different people using two different messaging clients as well as make a cd for a friend of mine while figuring out the main plans for the evening, and I would say I perform those tasks quite adequately.
For whatever reason as you get older the changes you see happen around you invariably become "too fast" or "unnecessary" and you find yourself wishing for a simpler time or one where things that were familiar to you still exist. Change is inevitable, much more so than ever before and it's time we all get used to perpetual and unending change in the things around us as we seek better and easier means to achieve given tasks.
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