Media-multitasking and cognitive control across the lifespan

Abstract

The exponential rise in technology use over the past decade, and particularly during the COIVD-19 pandemic, has been accompanied by growing concern regarding the consequences of this technology use for our cognition. Previous studies on the influence of technology-multitasking (the use of two or more technologies simultaneously) on cognitive performance have provided mixed results. However, these past studies have generally ignored the considerable developmental trajectories that cognitive abilities undergo across the lifespan. In a large community-based science project we investigated the relationship between media-multitasking and cognitive flexibility (multitasking ability) in participants aged 7–70 years. Higher levels of every-day technology multitasking were associated with higher levels of multitasking performance across an age range in which multitasking ability undergoes developmental change. These findings suggest that age is an important moderator of the relationship between technology use and cognition.