The Consequences of Media Multitasking for Youth: A Research Synthesis

• In Event: Recent Discoveries on the Relationship Between Media Use and ADHD

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of media multitasking among youth has raised concerns regarding its negative effects on youths’ functioning. Although the number of empirical studies on the consequences of media multitasking among youth has grown rapidly, there has been no attempt to integrate theory with the results of these studies. Using a vote-counting analysis, this research synthesis integrates available findings on the relationship between media multitasking and three domains of youths’ functioning: cognitive control, academic performance, and socioemotional functioning. Three databases were searched, resulting in 8,448 citations. Fifty-five studies met the inclusion criteria: nine studies on cognitive control, 42 on academic performance, and four on socioemotional functioning. Overall, the findings indicate a small negative relationship between media multitasking and the three domains of youths’ functioning. However, evidence regarding the causal direction of this relationship is lacking. Based on the research synthesis, we present five main directions for future research.

Authors

• Winneke van der Schuur, University of Amsterdam

• Susanne E. Baumgartner, U of Amsterdam

• Sindy R. Sumter, U of Amsterdam

• Patti M. Valkenburg, U of Amsterdam