'Digital overload' causing loss of focus

London: Digital multi-tasking could be bad for the brain, scientists say.

A study showed that those who browse the internet while texting friends and listening to music do worse in simple mental tests.

They are more easily distracted and, ironically, find it harder to switch between tasks than people who concentrate on one thing at a time, the researchers say.

The findings add to evidence that 'digital overload' is interfering with the way people think and behave.

Some neuroscientists argue that the brain is geared to handle one thing at a time. When asked to juggle several things at once, it is forced to flick frantically between them, like a performer spinning plates.

This puts the brain under stress and means it doesn't perform as well, it is claimed.

The study by researchers from Stanford University, California, classified 262 students into 'heavy' or 'light' multi-taskers and compared their performance in a series of computerised mental tests.

The heavy multi-taskers had much more difficulty filtering out irrelevant information from their environment and their memory.

They also found it more difficult to switch from one task to another and performed worse in the tests.

Communication expert Professor Clifford Nass said: "In an ever more saturated media environment, media multi-tasking - a person's consumption of more than one item or stream of content at the same time - is becoming an increasingly prevalent phenomenon, especially among the young.

"These results demonstrate that media multi-tasking is associated with a distinct approach to fundamental information processing."

However, he added that it was unclear if multi-tasking caused people to become distracted, or whether those prone to distraction preferred to surround themselves with electronic media.