Multitasking

I used to read a book while watching TV. I sometimes try to read a magazine while watching TV but I end up not being able to concentrate well on either. I thought this was just an age thing. Well, it seems it isn't. According to Barbara Shelly's recent StickyMinds.com post:

Multitaskers think they can focus on more than one thing at the same time. What's actually happening, researchers say, is that parts of the brain are switching from task to task, losing time and focus with each pivot.

With certain exceptions - practicing Buddhists come to mind - people have always valued the ability to do more than one thing at once. Knit and watch TV. Cook while listening to music. Drive and talk. But in the last two decades, devices that were supposed to make us more efficient and connected have actually made us more attention-deprived and anti-social.

I have to say I agree with this wholeheartedly. I hate it when somebody is texting while in a meeting, or checking their Blackberry. It's actually rude. Now, I have research to back up the fact that it is not efficient either!