Did you know that our activities change how our brains grow? And the way our brains work determines what activities we like to do. In other words, our brain wiring changes over time, and those changes lead us to prefer some tasks over others. These days, we spend more time on our screens than we do outside or face-to-face with other people. That means our brains are wired to function best in the virtual world. Because screens are a relatively new phenomenon in the scope of human history, we don’t know what the long-term outcome of screen use will be on our brains. Child and teen brains are especially vulnerable to rewiring issues because they are already in a massive state of change. Will this information change the way you use your screens?
Brains!
Neurons & Superhighways
Our brains are made up of millions of brain cells, called neurons. Neurons communicate with each other and help us think, move, and even breathe! Neurons are necessary for us to live. The healthier our brains are, the better our lives are.
As we age, our brains are constantly remodeling. At first, our brains use many neurons to complete one task. But with practice, our neurons form superhighways for the most efficient thinking. As we age, fewer neurons can get the same task done that used to take far more neurons. The more primitive pathways that get replaced prune away while the superhighways develop.
Our brain is its biggest when we are 10 years old! Then our gray matter (the brain tissue packed with neurons) decreases from there. At certain ages, some parts of our brain remodel more than others based on the types of learning that we are doing. For example, babies and toddlers are remodeling the brain areas responsible for attaching to others and learning a language. Teen brains are remodeling the brain areas responsible for creating abstract ideas and connecting with their peers.
Brain Thinning from Excessive Screen Use
To build healthy brains, we must take good care of ourselves and get good sleep, nutrition, and exercise. We also need to do a lot of balanced learning off-screen, not just on-screen. Doing different types of learning will build a more capable, healthier brain.
Doing only one type of learning over and over for many hours a day will build a less capable brain than learning a variety of things. In fact, studies are showing that kids who use screens seven hours a day, versus kids who do not, show thinning in many parts of the brain and lower scores on thinking and language tests.[i][ii][iii][iv] The way their brains process information is also negatively affected.[v]
Is multitasking healthy for our brains?
Many of us spend much of our day multitasking, which means going back and forth between different screen tasks and in-real-life tasks. We are doing many (multiple) tasks at the same time – going back and forth between a primary task and an interrupting task. We love to be connected to our screen devices when we are doing in-real-life things like checking our social media during homework or watching a video while at a restaurant. Most of the time that’s fun and works great. But other times our screen devices can reduce the quality of our work.
Many people think that when they are multitasking, their brains can work on everything at the same time as if the brain has a huge mental pipeline where different things flow in and out at once. But the brain can’t do many things at the same time. Instead, we have a single mental pipeline that is built to do only one thing at a time.
When you are multitasking, you end up quickly going back and forth between those tasks rather than doing them at the same time. We call that toggling back and forth. Those activities must take turns using the same brain area. Competition between the same cognitive resources can decrease our energy, happiness, and learning performance.
But it’s not so simple to say that interrupting one task with another is always a problem. Sometimes there are learning benefits to using screens during real-life activities. The challenge is figuring out what screen activities help get the task done and which are distracting us and wearing us out.
Do younger people outsource to their screens better than older people?
Young people who grew up with screens tend to multitask more often and better than older people who did not grow up with screens. With early life practice, they have learned the mental flexibility of digital learning. Screen natives learn differently than screen immigrants.
For example, younger people are better than older people at multitasking.[vi] Using our screens for things like memory, increased access to information, mapping, performing calculations, and creating is called outsourcing. Outsourcing to screens means less need for memory or spatial skills and less cognitive effort.
Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Well, the answer is complicated. Some types of limited multitasking are healthy for learning. Other types are not so much. Furthermore, we cannot trust our judgment. Though people insist they get more done, better, and faster when multitasking, they are most often wrong.[vii] Multitaskers don’t recognize that juggling tasks cost us more time and results in worse performance, kind of like a drunk driver saying he drives better while under the influence.
The Costs of Multitasking
Performance Decline
Results are consistent across studies that multitasking results in a small but significant decrease in test scores (4-5% decrease). Larger interruptions cause even larger decreases.[xiii][xiv] Perhaps a 5% decline doesn’t seem like much, but it is half a letter grade.
If two tasks require different cognitive resources, like walking and talking, then the performance decline is smaller. If tasks require similar cognitive resources, like talking and texting, which both require language centers, then the deficits are larger.[xv]
In the long term, multitasking (with social media and instant messaging for example) can lead to lower grades and poorer cognitive performance overall, especially in the areas of working memory and attention.[xvi][xvii] Multitaskers tend to have poorer memories because they are getting less memorizing practice.
Time Cost & the Google Effect
Multitasking also costs us extra time. When people are interrupted, it takes an average of 23 minutes, 15 seconds to return to work, often getting distracted by two or more tasks after the interruption.[xi]
When we use the Internet, we are also less likely to remember something we’ve learned if we know it’s published online, a dynamic now called the Google effect.[xii] It’s as if we quit thinking or taking responsibility for learning because we expect our smartphones to have it handled. Why bother to take the effort to remember the date if a press of a button will get the job done?
Brain Drain & Anxiety
Another cost of multitasking with our screens is brain drain. Research has shown that toggling between mental tasks burns the brain’s fuel, oxygenated glucose, at a rate faster than concentrating on a single task.[xx]We think we are saving time and energy by fracturing our attention, but we are actually draining the very energy necessary to do the work and taking more time to do it!
Our screens drain us in other ways too. A 2015 study found that smartphone notifications hijack attention and distract us by launching distracting thoughts whether we’ve checked notifications or not.[viii] Furthermore, when smartphone users are unable to answer a notification, their pulse and blood pressure increase, they feel anxious, and their problem-solving skills decline.[ix] The more attached we are to our phones and the closer they are to us, the more distracted and stressed we are.[x]
Brain overload from multitasking can take a toll on mental health. Factors that make us most vulnerable to rapidly switching tasks are anxious and impulsive personality traits, stress, and too little sleep.[xxi]Without downtime, mental stress and fatigue can lead to poorer learning, irritability, and mood and anxiety disorders, especially for teens.[xxii]
Homework & Multitasking
Kids argue, and rightfully so, that it is impossible to do homework without multitasking on- and offscreen. As they get older, school tasks require the student to look up information for research, communicate with other group members, and track progress across multiple platforms.
Here are some research findings that can help you make better choices while doing schoolwork.
Watching TV or videos while doing schoolwork interferes with performance.
Watching TV and doing homework are both demanding tasks that compete for the same brain areas. Research studies have demonstrated that watching television, or even just having it on in the background, impairs reading performance, [xxiii] memory of homework facts, [xxiv] and even your memory of what you’ve watched on TV. [xxv
How about music and homework?
It was once widely believed that listening to classical music makes you smarter, known as The Mozart Effect. However, this theory has largely been proven to be untrue.
Studying in a quiet environment results in better homework performance than studying with music.[xxvi] Kids tend to think they do better while listening to the music they like and worse while listening to music they don’t like. But performance is poorer in either condition.[xxvii]
However, music does have a positive role in learning if you listen to music you like before homework or during breaks due to a bump in arousal and mood (called the Stephen King Effect).
Is using a laptop during the lecture OK?
College students who do not use any type of technology during class time tend to outperform those students who do use screen technology during the lecture.[xxviii] Researchers explained the results in terms of a bottleneck in attention. Meaning that more goes into the brain than it can handle, so it must slow down to catch up. Using a smartphone decreases a student’s ability to remember lecture information.[xxix] Moreover, laptop use during lectures not only distracts the user but also distracts the student’s neighbors.[xxx]
Supertaskers & Neuroplasticity
Pumping yourself up to learn before homework and relaxing during breaks is a good thing. But distracting yourself during homework with anything that may compete for the same brain resources is a bad thing. But there are exceptions to this rule.
Approximately 2% of the population, called supertaskers, defy statistics and demonstrate an extraordinary ability to screen out distractors when multitasking. It’s as if they have super-enhanced brain skills called synaptic plasticity.[xxxi]
Supertaskers can maintain these exceptional abilities by practicing excellent brain health habits, like good organization and time management, and refueling with emotional and cognitive control strategies that are screen-free like mindfulness, imagery, and meditation.
The Work-Home Boundary
It’s not just kids and teens that are impacted by screen time. Parents also have problems getting off their screens.
Studies have found that the boundaries between work and home have blurred. Overall, our work and school days span more hours and our jobs have become more demanding. This has led to more stress and dissatisfaction and less connection to the things that are meaningful to us.[xviii] We have trained ourselves to self-interrupt, leading to worsened task prioritization and poorer sustained attention overall.[xix]
How can we overcome the depleting effects of multitasking and screen time?
Taking YouTube breaks is not the answer.
Try these things instead:
Focus on one task at a time.
Do your work first, then enjoy fun content as your reward for a job well done.
Batch notifications (turn off notifications, then save them up and go through them all at once every few hours instead of constantly checking).
Take frequent screen-free brain breaks. Don’t go on the screen because you will lose track of time and stay distracted. Instead, let your mind wander or stare off for fifteen minutes every couple of hours.
Sprinkle in brain-healthy activities throughout your day, like yoga, group hikes, and nutritious snack times.
[ii] Kim, S., Baik, S., Park, C., Kim, S., Choi, S. & Kim, S. (2011). Reduced Striatal Dopamine D2 Receptors in People with Internet Addiction. NeuroReport 22.8: 407-11. Web.
[iii] Koepp, M., Gunn, R., Lawrence, A., Cunningham, V., Dagher, A., Jones, T., Brooks, D., Bench, C., & Grasby, P. (1998). Evidence for striatal dopamine release during a video game. Nature 393: 266-268.
[iv] Kühn, S., Romanowski, A., Schilling, C., Lorenz, R., Mörsen, C., Seiferth, N., & Banaschewski, T. (2011). The Neural Basis of Video Gaming. Translational Psychiatry 1: e53.
[v] Dong, G. Hu, Y., & Lin, X. (2013). Reward/punishment sensitivities among internet addicts: Implications for their addictive behaviors. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, 46, 139–145.
[vi] Ie, A., Haller, C., Langer, E., & Courvoisier, D. (2012). “Mindful Multitasking: The Relationship between Mindful Flexibility and Media Multitasking.” Computers in Human Behavior 28.4: 1526-532. Web.
[vii] Finley, J., Benjamin, A., & McCarley, J., (2014). “Metacognition of Multitasking: How Well Do We Predict the Costs of Divided Attention?” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 20.2: 158-65. Web.
[viii] Ward, A., Duke, K., Gneezy, A., & Bos, M. (2017). “Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of Oneâs Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity.” Journal of the Association for Consumer Research 2.2: 140-54. Web.
[ix] Clayton, R. (2015). “The Extended ISelf: The Impact of IPhone Separation on Cognition, Emotion, & Physiology.” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, vol. 20(2), pp. 119–135., doi:10.1111/jcc4.12109.
[x] Ward, A., Duke, K., Gneezy, A., & Bos, M. (2017). “Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of Oneâs Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity.” Journal of the Association for Consumer Research 2.2: 140-54. Web.
[xi] Sano, A. (20160. “Neurotics Can’t Focus: An in Situ Study of Online Multitasking in the Workplace – MIT Media Lab.” MIT Media Lab, www.media.mit.edu/publications/neurotics-cant-focus-an-in-situ-study-of-online-multitasking-in-the-workplace/.
[xii] Sparrow, B., et al. (2011). “Google Effects on Memory: Cognitive Consequences of Having Information at Our Fingertips.” Science, vol. 333, no. 6043, pp. 776–778., doi:10.1126/science.1207745.
[xiii] Conard, M., & Marsh, R., (2013). “Interest Level Improves Learning but Does Not Moderate the Effects of Interruptions: An Experiment Using Simultaneous Multitasking.” Learning and Individual Differences: n. pag. Web.
[xiv] Wood, E., Zivcakova, L., Gentile, P., Archer, K., De Pasquale, D., & Nosko, A. (2012). “Examining the Impact of Off-task Multi-tasking with Technology on Real-time Classroom Learning.” Computers & Education 58.1: 365-74. Web.
[xv] Conard, M., & Marsh, R., (2013). “Interest Level Improves Learning but Does Not Moderate the Effects of Interruptions: An Experiment Using Simultaneous Multitasking.” Learning and Individual Differences: n. pag. Web.
[xvi] Fein, S., Jones, S., & Gerow, J. (2013). “When It Comes to Facebook There May Be More to Bad Memory than Just Multitasking.” Computers in Human Behavior 29.6: 2179-182. Web.
[xvii] Fox, A., Rosen, J., & Crawford, M. (2009). “Distractions, Distractions: Does Instant Messaging Affect College Students’ Performance on a Concurrent Reading Comprehension Task?” CyberPsychology & Behavior, 12(1): 51-53.https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2008.0107
[xviii] Gregoire, C. (2016). “The American Workplace Is Broken. Here’s How We Can Start Fixing It.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 22 Nov. 2016, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/american-workplace-broken-stress_us_566b3152e4b011b83a6b42bd.
[xix] Sano, A. (2016). “Email Duration Batching and Self-Interruption: Patterns of Email Use on Productivity and Stress – MIT Media Lab.” MIT Media Lab, 17 May 2016, www.media.mit.edu/publications/email-duration-batching-and-self-interruption-patterns-of-email-use-on-productivity-and-stress/.
[xx] Sridharan, D., et al. (2008). “A Critical Role for the Right Fronto-Insular Cortex in Switching between Central-Executive and Default-Mode Networks.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 105, no. 34, pp. 12569–12574., doi:10.1073/pnas.0800005105.
[xxii] Becker, M., Alzahabi, R., & Hopwood, C., (2013). “Media Multitasking Is Associated with Symptoms of Depression and Social Anxiety.” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 16.2: 132-35. Web.
[xxiii] Lin, L., Robertson, T., & Lee, J. (2009). “Reading Performances Between Novices and Experts in Different Media Multitasking Environments.” Computers in the Schools 26.3: 169-86. Web.
[xxiv] Armstrong, G. Blake, & Chung, L. (2000). “Background Television and Reading Memory in Context: Assessing TV Interference and Facilitative Context Effects on Encoding Versus Retrieval Processes.” Communication Research 27: 327–352.
[xxv] Zhang, W., Jeong, S., & Fishbein, M. (2010). “Situational Factors Competing For Attention: The Interaction Effect of Multitasking and Sexually Explicit Content on TV Recognition.” Journal of Media Psychology 22: 2–13. Web.
[xxvi] Furnham, A., & Bradley, A. (1997). “Music While You Work: The Differential Distraction of Background Music on the Cognitive Test Performance of Introverts and Extraverts.” Applied Cognitive Psychology 11.5: 445-55. Web.
[xxvii] Perham, N., & Vizard, J. (2011), Can preference for background music mediate the irrelevant sound effect? Appl. Cognit. Psychol., 25: 625–631. doi:10.1002/acp.1731
[xxviii] Hembrooke, H., & Gay, G. (2003). “The Laptop and the Lecture: The Effects of Multitasking in Learning Environments.” Journal of Computing in Higher Education 15.1: 46-64. Web.
[xxix] Wood, E., Zivcakova, L, Gentile, P., Archer, K., De Pasquale, D., & Nosko, A. (2012). “Examining the Impact of Off-task Multi-tasking with Technology on Real-time Classroom Learning.” Computers & Education 58.1: 365-74. Web.
[xxx] Sana, F., Weston, T., & Cepeda, N. (2013). “Laptop Multitasking Hinders Classroom Learning for Both Users and Nearby Peers.” Computers & Education 62: 24-31. Web.
[xxxi] Watson, J., & Strayer, D. (2010). “Supertaskers: Profiles in Extraordinary Multitasking Ability.” Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 17.4: 479-85. Web.
Parents know that screen use carries risk, whether it’s sleep deprivation, texting while driving, online sexuality and aggression, or addiction. But what can we do about it? Pandora’s box has been opened. Yes, there are powerful parenting strategies that should be happening to limit risk, but who wants to deal with toxic teen fallout? Tweens and teens can put up a fight and workaround most rules anyway. And what if you have been monitoring on the sly and see something alarming, then what? If they find out you’ve been spying, it will damage an already difficult relationship. What can parents do to kick in and do a better job without starting World War III?
I work with teens every day in practice and have two at home. I agree they can be pretty scary. But I also know that without us, they’re capable of getting into real danger. There are sensible techniques you can use to implement real change without damaging your relationship. Believe it or not, teens even welcome limits sometimes, as long as they’re justified and introduced with a sincere offer for respectful negotiation. If that wasn’t the case, I’d be getting fired by session three most of the time by my teen clients. Instead, I often have to push them to graduate from therapy. Like us, they love fun connection and will accept adult influence more than you think.
Here are some parenting hacks for managing screen use even with the most independent teens:
DON’T AMBUSH
Sprinkle in your intent and justification over time rather than in one aggressive attack. Intervention doesn’t have to happen all at once (even though you may be anxious to get it over with). Introduce your ideas over time to give teens a chance to digest the information. Start with a discussion, then a meeting, then the implementation in doable steps. It’s unlikely you’ll ever get their full buy-in, but gradual tweaks will be accepted far better than a hostile takeover. For example, rather than take away Instagram due to a transgression, talk to them with warmth and acceptance acknowledging that ALL teens make mistakes online. No big deal. Just fix this one and maybe pare back to Dunbar’s number on their friends list. This is the number of friends our brains seem to have slots for, 150. By paring back, they reduce risk and still get to keep connecting with friends. All-or-nothing interventions can drive a wedge, but gradual and reasonable tweaks provide learning opportunity and you get cred for being reasonable.
PREPARE FOR PUSH-BACK
When I work with families, I often start with coping skills long before I suggest parenting strategies. Listening, assertiveness, negotiation, and relaxation skills are key. It also helps if you are prepared. These push-back possibilities are offered so you won’t be surprised when they arise and will stay calm and strategic and avoid getting pulled in and manipulated. If it gets too heated, walk away (eyes off the behavior you don’t want) and return to the issue another time (eyes on the behavior you want). Most important, don’t let them see you sweat. Maintain your credibility with calm authority.
Typical teen push-backs:
Act like they don’t care with plans to sneak later
Justify, lie, or make excuses
“I didn’t do it”
“Everybody does it”
“My teacher says I have to”
“You don’t know what it’s like now [I know everything about everything]””
Deflect and distract
By triggering you with real-time bad behavior, you may forget to follow through (“Look squirrel!”). I call this “throwing a fireball into the room.” While the parent is running around putting out fires, the issue at hand gets lost and the kid wins. Fireballs can be:
Eye-rolling
Talking back or cussing
Pulling out a list of grievances with absolutes (“You never let me” “This always happens”)
Tantrum
Name calling (“You suck”)
Self-deprecation (“I’m a terrible kid”)
Emotional extortion: Threaten to hurt you or themselves
Physically aggress (throwing, slamming, hitting)
Defy you and do it anyway
LISTEN AND VALIDATE
Although maddening, it’s healthy for teens to push back and manipulate. You want your kids to test things out on you, their safe person. Don’t take oppositionality personally. Manipulative kids are simply smart, strategic kids. Your job isn’t to squash their spirits, it’s to manage it and coach them to success.
For kids to engage in a discussion, you’ll need to listen as much as you talk. Lectures turn them off immediately. No engagement means you’ve lost any hope of influence. Once your child has responded and you’ve confirmed that you understand their position (whether you disagree with it or not, their position is legitimate), firmly state your intent to establish sensible rules. Remember that screen use is their lifeline to learning and socialization. Compulsive screen use happens, because it has real meaning and benefit. If you tell them to “turn it off,” they get anxious. Anxious kids are the most defiant, because they will endure almost anything to avoid the feelings from anxious rebound. Making a non-negotiable announcement will make for hard-going later and interfere with the opportunity for teens to take accountability for positive change. There’s big payoff for giving in a little rather than demanding full obedience. Modeling, mentorship, and teamwork are keys to success.
NEGOTIATE THE RULES
How does one negotiate without losing authority? Let’s take the example of trying to get your child off their phone during homework time, called multitasking. First, keep in mind this is not a black and white issue. Sometimes multitasking contributes to learning, other times it interferes.
Multitasking is beneficial when generating ideas, acculturating oneself to vocabulary and ideas around a particular topic, identifying experts and networking with community, enriching understanding using multimodal formats (reading, listening, viewing video), and when browsing for entertainment. Multitasking activities that have performance costs include screen activities that interrupt demanding cognitive learning tasks like reading, homework, or studying. Perhaps pulling back on bad habits rather than eradicating them entirely is a good start for now. For best success, outline goals, commit to honest learning objectives, and download time management and tracking apps. Let them try out their ideas, then swing around later to discuss outcome. Tweak, repeat.
There you have it, a plan! Remember to set an expectation for success and prepare for follow-through. If you capitulate to teen freak outs, it will be far harder next time because you’ve taught them you’ll cave in the face of tantrums. If you follow through, they’ll eventually respect your authority. Staying firm, consistent, and emotionally neutral is also important. You’re empowered and so are they. Small consequences (one night when devices are docked early) are usually just as impactful as big ones (taking their phone for a week), and you are less likely to cave because it’s doable. Don’t forget to remind them that you will lighten up as they get close to graduating. High school seniors need more independence to build resilience and prep them for success in college.
