Multitasking

Multitasking; aquired skill, myth, helpful practice, or danger to those around you. A lot of the time people use the phrase "multitasking", but what they do not know is that the word "multitasking" would mean that you are doing multiple things simultaneously. People have not yet realized that they are only switching their attention from task to task very rapidly.(Hamilton 1) During these times when one is in transition between task to task their attention cannot be completely focused on just one of the many things that they are doing. Taking one's attention away from the task at hand to do another can end in tragedy. For example, if someone is using their cellular phone while driving their car, the situation could become dangerous - Thomas Garrity, Johntel Ogden.

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With all of the new technology that is available to the modern consumer there comes many new dangers that did not exist in the past few years. Approximately 79% of all of the teenagers in the United States own a cell phone and about 300,000 text messages are sent by Americans every 60 seconds(Van Tassel & Chidester 2).Texting while in the car, walking down the street, riding your bike or skateboard can cause serious injury to you and those around you. Many deaths each year are attributed to drivers who are distracted from the wheel or those that are not focused on what they are doing. Think about it, if you are completely focused on texting and sending that last minute text message before school or work, are you going to see that car thats about to run the red light or the person who is crossing the street? The answer is most likely, no. Today people have to communicate now, rather than later but they are developing bad habits that can eventually lead to serious injury- Thomas Garrity.

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The main question for multitasking is, "Is it efficient?" The answer to that is a simple, no. Studies show that working on two things at once gets you distracted. You get too hooked onto one thing and the other becomes just a blur. This causes you get off topic and you are not able to focus. You will never be able to focus when you do more than one thing at one time. It is shown that your learning ability and habits will be completely different and much worse. Multitasking affects how you learn. In the end you will not be focused enough to work efficiently. The solution to this problem is to just do one thing at a time and stay focused on that one thing until you are done. - Brian Almand

The dangers of multitasking can hurt us in many ways. We can either be hurt physically or our work can be hurt by trying to multitask. Using your cell phone while driving a motorized vehicle can lead to a possible car crash which can cause injury, stress, or even death. If you are trying to multitask while working, you would tire yourself out and just become more stressed out. Using your cell phone, listening to music, or watching television while trying to get school work accomplished could just result in a bad grade. The best way to accomplish any work or activity that needs to be completed is to just take your time focusing on one task at a time.-Johntel Ogden

People who multitask just cannot win. They are not focused and cannot remember what they are doing and will not remember what they were doing either. It affects the way people learn and it never is as efficient as concentrating on one thing at a time. It is known from later research that if you are doing more than one thing at once, and you gain knowledge while doing whatever you are doing, then you will not remember what you have learned in the future as fluently as you should (Poldrack 2). The final conclusion is that it is really not worth it to multitask; you should be focused on one thing at once. - Brian Almand

Multitasking, if tried, can be prove to be very complicated. It is complicated because the human mind and body was created to take care of one thing at a time. Your mind can only focus on one task at a time, so do not try adding difficulty to completing your task. You were only given one pair of hands, so while driving do your best to keep both of them on the wheel. When you take your driving test, you will need both hands on the wheel, putting your other hand on a cell phone can take your focus away from the wheel. If someone that you are talking to on the phone while driving says something to make you find shocking, you may take eyes off the road which could cause an accident, and while the accident is in progress, you may panic and result in a serious car crash.-Johntel Ogden

Multitasking; As I have read in a couple of articles it seems that the use of multitasking has always came to one conclusion. It is that multitaskiing results as less efficient and also it puts a great deal of stress on you. You will not be focused enough to do a good job on whatever you shall be doing - Brian Almand.

In certain ways, people feel as though multitasking is efficient because they think it saves time. Multitasking can not save time due to one simple fact, multitasking is a myth, a fairy tale, a hoax, and a deception. The person who created the word 'multitask' was just trying to get attention. Moving through tasks very quickly is more efficient than randomly switching from task to task. Even moving from task to task very frequently is still not multitasking, you are just leaving work undone. There is nothing special about leaving work undone, I consider leaving work undone just procrastinating.-Johntel Ogden

People around the world today are completely obssessed with finishing work a quickly as possible, but quickly is not always better. When your attention is not completely focused on one of the tasks that you are doing, your work’s quality and accuracy will suffer. The only way to accomplish a task quickly is to focus on it completely not try to do fifty things at once.- Thomas Garrity

To find more information on multitasking visit these links: 1. []- Thomas Garrity

2. [] Johntel Ogden

3. [] - Johntel Ogden

4. [] - Thomas Garrity

5. [] - Brian Almand

6. [] - Brian Almand

 Blackburn, Richard. “Drive readers admit to fatal distractions behind the wheel.” __Drive Blog.__ August 13, 2008. Fairfax Digital. February 24, 2009. < [] .>
 * //Works Cited-Thomas Garrity//**

Van Tassel, William E., and R. Chidester.. "Text Messaging While Driving: "R U UP 2 Speed?" (Are You Up to Speed?)." __Chronicle of the American Driver & Traffic Safety Education Association__ 56.1 (Fall2008 2008): 5-5. __MasterFILE Premier__. EBSCO. Mc Shain Library, Philadelphia, PA. 9 Mar. 2009 []

//**Works Cited-Johntel Ogden** //

Hamilton, Jon. "Think You're Multitasking? Think Again." __Npr.__ October 2, 2008. Npr.org. February 11,2009. <[].>

New York Times, “Multitasking Can Make You Lose … Um… Focus”, newyorktimes.com, October 24, 2008, New York Times Paper, February 24, 2009, []

Poldrack, Russell. "Distraction-free studying is more efficient and effective, new brain research suggests." __eSchool News.__ July 26, 2006. eshcoolnews.com. February 28, 2009. <[]>
 * //Work Cited-Brian Almand//**


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