The way that technology and devices have transformed has made it accessible to more people in a greater number of areas than ever before. Kids born in the 1990s up until now are represented as Generation Z. This group of people have seen the internet shift dramatically in terms of how it has been presented and utilized. These people have seen the internet transform from the desktop to the cell phone. This allows it to literally be in the pockets of citizens 24/7. Studies suggest that there are numerous negative effects that include media multitasking and online bullying.
Media multitasking has been linked to lack of emotion detecting ability ,social anxiety, and the ability to process information
A complex that has originated in our digital age due to the increased accessibility of media is the overuse of multiple platforms at the same time. This has become a norm in the everyday lives of this generation as we find ourselves on our laptops, phones and tablets trying to communicate with people at the same time. Many wonder if this healthy for human brain and whether it is changing how we interact with others? Research has suggested that chronic multitasking can lead to an overload on the human psyche which can result in anxiety. A 2009 study conducted by Stanford University published the proceedings of an experiment called "Cognitive control in media multitaskers".The study used experiments to compare heavy media multitaskers to light media multitaskers in terms of their cognitive control and ability to process information .
This concept applies to media multitasking because it has become a norm to use to try to divert our attention to numerous platforms when the brain isn't capable of doing that. What ends up happening is that we start to compensate by each task less individual attention. this is harmful when it comes to communication because it allows room for us to misinterpret meanings and emotions that are hard to detect as it is without face to face interaction. We also commonly engage in conversations with multiple people at the same time which is dilutes focus even more. Equate these tasks into actual human to human setting it is difficult to engage in conversation with a person while trying to check your Instagram and listening to music with a TV playing in front of you. Yet many teenagers try to accomplish tasks similar to this on a daily basis.
There are a wide range of effects that come from training our brains to handle multiple things at a time. Studies suggest that it causes the individual to be less reactive to changes in patterns and signals. This is why emotion detecting abilities are affected because emotions are essentially signals when it comes to communicating with a person Heavy media multitaskers were on average 77 milliseconds slower than their light media counterparts at identifying changes in patterns. The second major effect found in studies suggested that long term memory was reported to be less efficient in those that heavily multitasked while using media. Another effect that was studied was the ability for multitakers to switch activities effectively and return to tasks. high media multitaskers were 426 milliseconds slower than their counterparts to switch to new activities and 259 milliseconds slower to engage in a new section of the same activity.
These three effects that were named are related to social anxiety. The main reason for that can be explained by the terms neuroticism and extraversion . Neuroticism can be defined as a fundamental personality trait in the study of psychology characterized by anxiety People with high neuroticism levels are usually heavy media multitaskers according to the study. respond more poorly to stressors, are more likely to interpret ordinary situations as threatening, and minor frustrations as hopelessly difficult. This can lead to depression and social anxiety. Extraversion can be explained as the condition and the mindset of relying on and being satisfied by activities, actions , and thoughts outside of ones self. Media multitaskers tests with high levels of extraversion and social anxiety. because they are constantly involved with others and situations of others with constant social media use.
Online Bullying has been suggested to be linked to Social anxiety as well, at an all time high in this current generation.
Many are familiar with the term "cyberbullying" that ha been presented in the media on numerous cases. A common consequence that derives from the increase in internet use is the bullying that forms outside of human interaction. There is almost no way to escape from this unhealthy experience for victims in this time period. Some children can go their whole lives with the scars from that and no one would be able to help or witness because it is all non physical. This also affects the social skills of that individual because it causes them to translate that to other people. Pew research center provided statistics that explain that our younger generation is more susceptible to witnessing and experiencing Online bullying .
When doing research the main statistic the stood out to me was that 73 % of internet users have witnessed online harassment. That goes to show the amount of people that are affected. Listed below are a couple of other statistics that I found.
One effect that originates from the social anxiety and distraction due to media multitasking is what is known as the third person effect. This can be described as the idea that people tend to perceive that mass communicated media messages have a greater effect on others than on themselves, based on personal biases; because of this perception, people tend to take action to counteract the messages’ influence. This desensitizes us to a lot of damage that can be done to people through words and text. this damage that is done can cause social anxiety of the fear that we will never fit in so we can become very easily persuaded through this third person effect.Those who have witnessed online harassment were also likely to be the target of it. Over half of internet users, 53%, who have witnessed the harassment of others online were the target of online harassment themselves. They were more than ten times as likely as internet users who have not witnessed online harassment to experience it by a margin of 53% to 5%.This provides evidence that suggests that there are more bullies and twice the victims of online bullying that we actually think.
When considering the evidence linking victimization to anxiety, two cautions are necessary. First, one’s risk of developing anxiety disorders does not depend only on whether and how one is bullied; rather, we must also consider factors such as genetics, culture, and environment . These risks can be prevented by recognizing these signs and addressing them. One thing that I've noticed is that the distraction we get from media multitasking can cause us to miss out on signals and examples of bullying that could be addressed. The relation between these problems can lead us into a society where we all are socially anxious.
