Millennials, we're told, are voracious multitaskers capable of juggling Instant Messenger chats, cellphone text messages — and, occasionally, real work — without skipping too many beats. That may well be true. But scientists at the University of Oxford, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Michigan have stepped forward to remind us that the human brain, deft though it may be, still isn't made to handle two things at once.
The Oxford team even cast doubt on millennials' vaunted multitasking skills, as The New York Times reports. Researchers asked a group of 18- to 21-year-olds to translate images into numbers using a code, and they asked a batch of thirtysomethings to perform the same task. The scientists made a point to interrupt both sets of test takers with cellphone calls.
As it turned out, the younger test subjects were quicker to complete the task when they weren't called. And the 30-year-olds matched the millennials in speed when both groups were interrupted. The study certainly doesn't mean that students can't work with IM windows open on their computers, but it does reinforce the fact that multitasking can, at times, have its disadvantages. –Brock Read
