Lost in multitasking: An exploration of Chinese university students’ in-class smartphone multitasking patterns using multiple approaches

Abstract

Smartphone multitasking is prevalent in university classrooms, yet the nature and characteristics of this behaviour have not been sufficiently understood. This empirical study explored in-class smartphone multitasking behaviours based on the perspectives of the multitasking cycle and multitasking time continuum. Diverse data collection methods are employed to achieve a more authentic and holistic understanding. First, semi-structured interviews were conducted to investigate the prevalence of in-class smartphone use, the types of smartphone tasks that students engaged in and the modes of smartphone multitasking. Experience-sampling method was used to capture the frequency and duration of smartphone use. Subsequently, a questionnaire was administered with a wider population to validate the data collected in the former stage. The results provide a detailed and comprehensive account of in-class smartphone multitasking behaviours, including the prevalence of such behaviour, different types of tasks performed while multitasking, as well as modes, frequency and duration of smartphone multitasking behaviours during class sessions. By revealing a fine-grained pattern of students’ multitasking behaviours, these findings contribute to the understanding of how university students multitask inside the classroom. Furthermore, the findings also highlight the need for educational researchers and practitioners to consider this behaviour from multiple perspectives and with a holistic approach.