MIT neuroscientist Earl Miller says that our brains are “not wired to multitask well…when people think they’re multitasking, they’re actually just switching from one task to another very rapidly. And every time they do, there’s a cognitive cost.”
When we complete a tiny task (sending an email, answering a text message, posting a tweet), we are hit with a dose of dopamine, the reward hormone. This encourages us to keep switching between mini-tasks that give us instant gratification, creating a feedback loop that makes us feel like we’re accomplishing a lot, when we’re really not doing much at all (or at least nothing requiring much critical thinking).
Multitasking makes it more difficult to organize thoughts and filter out irrelevant information, and reduces the efficiency and quality of our work. It has also been found to increase production of cortisol, the stress hormone, and leaves us feeling mentally exhausted.
Some studies have shown that even opportunity to multitask, e.g., knowledge of an unread email in your inbox, can reduce your effective IQ by 10 points! Texting is worse, demanding even more immediacy than email.
MRI scans on the brains of individuals who spent time on multiple devices at once (texting while watching TV, etc.) reveal that those who multitask more had less brain density in the anterior cingulate cortex, the area responsible for empathy and emotional control.
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