International Journal of Psychology, 2015 DOI: 10.1002/ijop.12187
Predictors of media multitasking in Chinese adolescents Xiaohui Yang1,2 and Liqi Zhu1 1 Key
Laboratory of Behavioural Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China 2 University of Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, P.R. China
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e examined predictors of media multitasking in Chinese adolescents from 3 contexts: characteristics of the media user, types of media use and family media contexts. Three hundred and twenty adolescents, 11–18 years of age, completed questionnaires to measure media use, impulsivity, sensation seeking, time management disposition and family media environment. The results showed that media multitasking was positively correlated with age and total media use time. Participants with high levels of impulsivity and sensation seeking reported more multitasking behaviour. Multitasking was negatively correlated with time management. Children from media-oriented families often engage in more multitasking. What’s more, social networking sites use and music use can mediate the effect of individual and family factors on media multitasking. Keywords: Media multitasking; Impulsivity; Sensation seeking; Time management disposition; Chinese adolescents.
Media multitasking (“multitasking”) has become the dominant media behaviour among youth (Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010). However, behavioural and brain research (Charron & Koechlin, 2010) suggests that multitasking is challenging, stressful and unproductive (Bowman, Levine, Waite, & Gendron, 2010). Recent studies reported the negative impacts of multitasking on learning outcomes (Rosen, Lim, Carrier, & Cheever, 2011). Cognitive deterioration may be caused by chronic media multitasking (Ophir, Nass, & Wagner, 2009). China recorded an internet user population of 618 million at the end of 2013, and internet users
Predictors of media multitasking in Chinese adolescents Xiaohui Yang1,2 and Liqi Zhu1 1 Key
Laboratory of Behavioural Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China 2 University of Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, P.R. China
W
e examined predictors of media multitasking in Chinese adolescents from 3 contexts: characteristics of the media user, types of media use and family media contexts. Three hundred and twenty adolescents, 11–18 years of age, completed questionnaires to measure media use, impulsivity, sensation seeking, time management disposition and family media environment. The results showed that media multitasking was positively correlated with age and total media use time. Participants with high levels of impulsivity and sensation seeking reported more multitasking behaviour. Multitasking was negatively correlated with time management. Children from media-oriented families often engage in more multitasking. What’s more, social networking sites use and music use can mediate the effect of individual and family factors on media multitasking. Keywords: Media multitasking; Impulsivity; Sensation seeking; Time management disposition; Chinese adolescents.
Media multitasking (“multitasking”) has become the dominant media behaviour among youth (Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010). However, behavioural and brain research (Charron & Koechlin, 2010) suggests that multitasking is challenging, stressful and unproductive (Bowman, Levine, Waite, & Gendron, 2010). Recent studies reported the negative impacts of multitasking on learning outcomes (Rosen, Lim, Carrier, & Cheever, 2011). Cognitive deterioration may be caused by chronic media multitasking (Ophir, Nass, & Wagner, 2009). China recorded an internet user population of 618 million at the end of 2013, and internet users
