Multitasking has negative effect on student academic work

Summary of Findings:

•IM users spend a great deal of time actively chatting (120 minutes per day on average).
•97% of IM users reported multitasking by doing something else on the computer while chatting.
•93% reported multitasking by engaging in a non-computer related activity (watching television, talking on the phone, etc.) while chatting.
•93% reported that they had actively chatted and performed schoolwork at the same time.
•57% of IM users reported that doing schoolwork while IMing had a detrimental effect on theirschoolwork.
•Students who spent more time actively chatting via IM per day were more likely to report academic impairment.
•Students who reported higher frequencies of doing schoolwork while IMing were more likely to report academic impairment.
•Students who reported multitasking by doing another activity on the computer or another activity not on the computer, were more likely to report academic impairment.
•Women were more likely to report a detrimental impact of multitasking on their schoolwork.
•Older students were less likely to report academic impairment because of multitasking.