A reader posted a comment on my About page about recent research by the Kaiser Foundation on the subject of media multitasking among American youth. Their report explores how pervasive media multitasking is among young people, potential cognitive and social development implications, and which teens are most likely to multitask. You can read the Key Findings document or the full 39-page report.
Let me quote a few paragraphs from the report that will give you the essence of it:
In the past, multitasking was a juggling act performed by busy adults, as they tried to manage jobs, chores, carpools, and PTA meetings. But recently, teens and tweens have turned into the real experts at multitasking, as their lives become chock-full of organized activities. For them, multitasking has simply become a way of life: “If I couldn’t multitask, I couldn’t do what I do… I’d have to cut a sport, or cut a class” says one high school junior.
Much of the multitasking young people do revolves around media use. The way young people use media is changing dramatically. Anecdotal evidence suggests that “media multitasking,” or engaging in more than one media activity at a time, is a common occurrence. New technologies, such as the computer, appear to foster obsessive “multitasking,” namely constantly switching between such activities as instant messaging (IM), email, ordering a book online and catching a quick headline. Handheld items make it easier to multitask, allowing a teen, for example, to play a videogame or text message a friend while watching TV…. As a result, teens spend more time using several media simultaneously than ever before.
At the conclusion of the report, they state:
This report just scratches the surface of the complexities involved with media multitasking. It provides some preliminary guidance for reaching young people in this new media landscape. First, it is important to realize that not everyone is media multitasking all of the time. Most young people spend some time media multitasking and those who do spend, on average, a quarter of their media time with multiple media. On the other hand, sensation seekers, those shown to be more likely to engage in risky behaviors (hence in greater need of being reached with positive messages), are more likely to media multitask.
Second, some media, at least for now, seem to retain focus better than others. Television, to which young people devote the most amount of time, is least likely to be shared with other media, and thus remains a good option for reaching young people. Messages integrated into the narrative are less likely than PSAs to fall victims to multitasking. A synergistic approach that involves multiple media and gets young people talking (in person, via text messaging, IM, or email) also fits with how young people use media.
Finally, the best time to reach a young person with a message is when they are ready for it. The Internet offers an ideal way to make information available when a young person is seeking it — and in that scenario, the information won’t get lost in the media multitasking madness.
What do you think the Church should do to best support these media multitaskers on Church Internet sites?
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow! Great find! I think the church is already doing a pretty good job at this. They have information available through pretty much every medium I can think of. TV, Radio, Internet. Particularly with the internet, the information is there and waiting to be found.
There is always the option of entering the social networking world like so many politicians and rock bands have done with MySpace… but I don’t think that is really needed for the church. For the most part, the youth of the church are already doing a fantastic job representing the church in their own profiles. Perhaps the youth could add sites like mormon.org to their profiles so if people have questions they will know where to go.
Linking this to your previous post I would be interested in a Church Social Networking site that made it easy to link to scripture passages, conference talks or other church publications so that youth and others could share their insights and how it has inspired/helped them etc.
OK people can already do this on their own, but the Church could make it easier to do and find like minded individuals.
Larry,
I think a fundamental issue here is related to the statement at the conclusion of the report:
“Messages integrated into the narrative are less likely than PSAs to fall victims to multitasking.”
Television has an appeal because it presents narratives. I think one of the reasons blogging and social networking have become popular with the members of the M Generation are their ability to convey narratives of the lives of their peers, and to allow them to tell their own story.
I think we need more narratives on the church websites–more stories from the lives of living church members as well as our faithful predecessors from both modern church history and ancient scripture. I think it’s instructive that the Savior so often taught in parables. Stories are engaging, regardless of whether I have tendency for sensation seeking or not. I know many such stories are scattered throughout the gospel library, but I don’t think they’re really accessible to media multitasking youth.
Couple this with the suggestion of reaching young people with messages when they are ready for it: I think it would be helpful to provide such stories in discrete segments / episodes that can be subscribed to (via RSS, podcasts, etc.). Such stories can be “consumed” between tasks and provide links to additional content to pull them into the actual website when they are ready and engaged.