Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Information Overload is Causing “Multitaskers” to Fail


According to an article in The Seattle Times, Kord Campbell is the poster child of people being affected by information overload. Campbell’s life revolves around multitasking with his different technological devices. He uses an iPad, two computers, and an iPhone to simultaneously write code, surf the web, and check his email.


Because he has so much going on around him, he almost overlooked an email that contained a 1.3 million dollar offer for his Internet start up. He realized this 12 days after he received the email.  However, after apologizing, he was able to sell.
Campbell, like many others, is a heavy multitasker. Although he may think that he is being more productive, a study done at the University of California at Irvine disproves this notion.
The results showed that multitaskers have more trouble focusing on work and shutting out irrelevant information when receiving emails then do people who are not receiving the messages. They also experience more stress.
Dr. Gary Small, a psychiatrist at the University of California at Los Angeles, said that the stress hormones that are released are known to retard short-term memory.
So, Mr. Campbell is actually damaging both his brain and his ability to make money while he multitasks on his many gadgets.

Sources: Graphic

No comments:

Post a Comment