Quality of the Executive Function in the Cognitive Structure of the Multitasking Person with Digital Media

An increasing amount of digital media has been consummated simultaneously, a phenomenon known as "media multitasking". A number of experiments have addressed whether there are systematic differences in information processing styles among heavy and lightweight multitasking individuals. To better understand the locus of this possible differential, we review research aimed at studying the effects of this phenomenon on memory, attention and the reward system. From the review of these studies, especially those who compared these two groups to the dimensions of cognitive control, we were able to understand that heavy multitasking is more susceptible to the interference of irrelevant stimuli and irrelevant representations in memory. We note the result that heavy multitasking individuals performed poorly on a task switching ability test, probably due to the reduced ability to filter interference from the irrelevant set of tasks. These studies have shown that multitasking media, a rapidly growing social trend, is associated with a distinct approach to cognitive processing of information and a greater requirement for more mental resources.