THE DISTRACTED MIND

Uncovering the Psychology of

Technology in the Classroom

Larry D. Rosen, Ph.D.

Midwest Brain & Learning Institute
June 24, 2014
 WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR
(55% or more of 68 respondents)
1. The impact of technology on mental, physical and
psychological health of children, teens and adults (79%)
2. How the brain is affected by technology use (78%)
3. Focus and attention in an age of continuous partial
attention strategies for our children and for us (69%)
4. The impact of technology and media on sleep (or the lack
thereof) and how it impacts behavior and learning (69%)
5. Multitasking: Is it making us more productive or more
frazzled? (62%)
6. What we know about the brain from a biochemical point of
view (57%)
7. Generational similarities and differences in the use of
technology and the ramifications for education (56%)
8. Video gaming: Helpful, harmful, waste of time (56%)
 TODAYS PLAN
Our Young Generations of Techies
A Tale of 5 Different Generations
Why Do Students Multitask?
Multitasking Across Generations
How Do Students Multitask While Studying?
How Does Multitasking Impact Student Performance?
Why is it So Difficult for Students to Pay Attention?
Cultural Influences
Multitasking and Health
Video Gaming and Mental Acuity
Metacognition and Metacognitive Strategies
Sleep and a Healthy Brain
Technology & Brain Activity (structural and biochemical)
Helping Students Focus and Maintain a Healthy Brain
 WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF SIX
VASTLY DIFFERENT GENERATIONS

GENERATION BIRTH YEARS

Silent/Traditional Generation 1925 1945
Baby Boomers 1946 1964
Generation X 1965 1979
Net Generation 1980 1989
iGeneration 1990 1999
Generation C 2000+
LIFE IS MOVING FASTER THAN EVER
(and kids are growing up faster, too)

Can I just e-mail you a link to my blog, teacher?

 THE PACE OF TECHNOLOGICAL
CHANGE IS DIZZYING
Penetration Rate = Years to Reach 50 Million Users
Radio took 38 years
The Telephone took 20 years
Television took 13 years
Cell Phones took 12 years Angry Birds
The WWW took 4 years
iPods took 3 years
Took Just
Blogs took 3 years 35 Days!
MySpace took 2.5 years
Facebook took 2 years
YouTube took 1 year
 IS IT ANY WONDER WHY?
THESE ARE ALL TECHNOLOGIES THAT DID
NOT EXIST BEFORE THE YEAR 2000
iPod YouTube Kindle
iPhone Pandora Firefox
Wii Twitter Blackberry
MySpace iPad 3D TV
Facebook XBox Club
Google+ Satellite Radio Penguin
LinkedIn Flickr TiVo
Hybrid Cars Skype Broadband
iTunes Camera Phones Farmville
Snapchat Instagram Groupon
AND THEY USE THEM ALL
AT ONCE
Alvin Tofflers Wave Model Explains
Generational Upheaval

WAVES TECHNOLOGY YEARS

FIRST Agricultural 3,000

SECOND Industrial 300
THIRD Computer 30
FOURTH Informational ? 3-5?
FIFTH Communication ? 3-5?
SIXTH Biotech ? 3-5?
 4th, 5th, 6th
Agricultural Industrial Computer
Waves
Wave Wave Wave

3,000 300 30 3-5

years years years years each
New Technology is Making Our Lives
More Difficult Because We are
Continually Having to Learn More and
More . . . . And Faster and Faster

And Sometimes it Just Doesnt Make

Sense
 CHILDREN,
TEENAGERS AND
YOUNG ADULTS SEEM
LIKE THEY ARE ALIENS
PARTICULARLY
WHEN THEY
COMMUNICATE
AND THEY MOST CERTAINLY SEE
THE WORLD DIFFERENTLY!
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT
GENERATIONS DOING WITH
THEIR MEDIA?
 HOW MUCH TECHNOLOGY
ARE THEY USING EACH DAY?
BABY BOOMERS 8 HOURS A DAY
GENERATION X 15 HOURS A DAY
NET GENERATION 21 HOURS A DAY
iGENERATION 21 HOURS A DAY
GENERATION C 10 HOURS A DAY
WHAT TECHNOLOGIES DO THEY USE
2 HOURS OR MORE A DAY?
BABY BOOMERS TV

GENERATION X MUSIC
COMPUTERS
TV
GOING ONLINE

NET GENERATION MUSIC

TV
GOING ONLINE
TEXTING
NOW LETS TAKE A CLOSER
LOOK AT THE YOUNGER
iGENERATION
THEY SEEM
TO BE
TECHIES
FROM
BIRTH
OK, MAYBE NOT FROM BIRTH BUT
CLOSE
 WHAT ARE THE iGENERATION
TEENS AND THEIR YOUNGER
GENERATION C BROTHERS
AND SISTERS DOING WITH MEDIA
AND TECHNOLOGY?
 WHAT TECHNOLOGIES ARE OUR
CHILDREN USING ALL THE TIME?
iGENERATION MUSIC
TEXTING
GOING ONLINE
FACEBOOK
IM/CHAT

GENERATION C TV
VIDEO GAMES
NEW DATA FROM COMMONSENSE
MEDIA
More Use at Home
2011: 38% had used
2013: 72% had used
(38% under 2!)
More Daily Time
2011: 1:55
2013: 2:16
More iPads, too (8% in 2011;
40% in 2013!)
 YOUR PERSONAL USE OF TECHNOLOGY
(Includes once and hour, several times an hour and
all the time
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
 HAS THIS LED TO
MULTITASKING
MADNESS?
MULTITASKING ACROSS GENERATIONS
(Continuous Partial Attention)

GENERATION C iGENERATION NET GEN GEN X BABY

4-8 9-12 13-15 16-18 BOOMERS
MULTITASKING UNDER MENTAL LOAD

Studying for Exam

Writing a Report
 THEY USE DIFFERENT MEDIA WHEN
MULTITASKING

TOP FIVE MEDIA FOR MULTITASKING

NET
BABY BOOMERS GENERATION X
GENERATION
TV Music Music
Music Online Online
Phone TV Texting
E-Mail E-Mail
Online Texting
 TEENS WERE ASKED:
How often do you switch from studying to
doing something else like checking messages,
answering a text, looking at websites,
watching TV, listening to music, etc.?
HOW OFTEN
DO YOU 9th 10th 11th 12th
SWITCH?
VERY OFTEN 36% 32% 38% 33%
SOMEWHAT
42% 52% 49% 48%
OFTEN

TOTAL 78% 87% 87% 81%

 WHICH TASKS ARE EASY OR
DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO
MULTITASK?
1. Eating and playing a board game?
2. Reading a book and listening to music?
3. Surfing the Internet and listening to music?
4. Reading a book and watching TV?
5. Reading a book and talking on the phone?
6. Reading a book, texting, Facebooking, and
listening to music (with the TV on)?
 YOUR ATTITUDES TOWARD TASK
SWITCHING
(Includes strongly agree and agree)

I prefer to work on several projects in a

day rather than completing one and
then switching to another (52%)

I like to finish one task completely

before focusing on anything else (61%)
 WHO MULTITASKS AND WHY?

People who believe that they are good as

opposed to bad at multitasking
More multitasking predicted by more
impulsivity and more sensation seeking
Low executive control report more
multitasking worse at multitasking yet
do more multitasking!!!
Overestimate their ability to multitask
(large percent say better than the half)
 IS IT REALLY MULTITASKING OR IS IT
CONTINUOUS PARTIAL ATTENTION?
Engaged in one task but scanning
for others (smartphone)
Switching may be related to FOMO:
Fear of Missing Out
Leads to impaired decisions
Shallow processing
Inability to focus
Release of stress hormones
(norepinephrine, cortisol).
Blocks calming happiness
hormones (dopamine, serotonin).
TECHNOLOGY MAKES THEM DO
IT!
OUTSIDE IN THE REAL WORLD
The alerts that come from smartphones
And television has changed, too, to grab our
attention with short scenes, quick changes
INSIDE THE BRAIN
Mind wandering
The mind is always thinking about
technology and this can make us either
EXCITED or ANXIOUS or BOTH
 INTERNAL DISTRACTORS
THINKING ACTIVATES DIFFERENT AREAS
OF THE BRAIN THAN HEARING OR
SEEING OR SPEAKING
 DIFFERENT GENERATIONS
HAVE A DIFFERENT
PERCEPTION OF WHAT IS
EASY OR DIFFICULT TO
MULTITASK
 MULTITASKING STUDY ACROSS
GENERATIONS

Compared 3 generations
312 Baby Boomers
182 Gen X
825 Net Generation
12 tasks online, games, etc
Do you do them together?
How easy or difficult is it to combine
each task with each other task?
BABY BOOMER MULTITASKING CHOICES
Proportion of respondents who multitask given that they do both tasks singly
GEN XER MULTITASKING CHOICES
Proportion of respondents who multitask given that they do both tasks singly
NET GENER MULTITASKING CHOICES
Proportion of respondents who multitask given that they do both tasks singly
 DIARY STUDY OF 3,048 TEENS TO
ADULTS (Voorveld & van der Goot, 2013)
ROUGHLY EQUAL MULTITASKING
PERCENTAGE BY AGE GROUP
AGE GROUP

13-16 17-19 20-24 25-29 30-39 40-49 50-65

31% 24% 25% 22% 23% 17% 21%

VERY DIFFERENT MULTITASKING
CHOICES BY AGE GROUP
HOW DO STUDENTS FOCUS
WHILE STUDYING?
ARE THEY
DISTRACTED?
---------
AND WHAT ROLE
DOES TECHNOLOGY
PLAY IN THEIR
FOCUS AND
ATTENTION?
 OUR STUDY OF STUDYING:
A CASE OF DISTRACTED
LEARNERS
279 students observed studying [middle
school, high school, college]
15 minutes observe every minute
o On-task or off-task?
o What is on computer screen?
o Daily use of technologies and media
o Studying strategies?
o Preference for task switching
School performance/grade on test
 FOCUSED

FOCUSED FOCUSED

SAME FOR
COMPUTER
DISTRACTED PROGRAMMERS
AND MEDICAL
STUDENTS
DISTRACTED
AND THE MOST OFF-TASK
STUDENTS HAD THE MOST
OPEN WINDOWS!!!
 WHAT PREDICTS SCHOOL
PERFORMANCE (GRADES)?
How much they stay on task (GOOD!)
If they have strategies for studying (GOOD!)
Preference for task switching (BAD )
Daily media consumption (BAD )
Whether they checked Facebook ONCE during 15
minutes (AWFUL!)
 LAURA BOWMANS STUDY
CONTROL INTERRUPTION INTERRUPTION
GROUP GROUP 1 GROUP 2

Read IM Read
INTERRUPTION

IM
Read
Take Test Continue to Read

Take Test
Take Test
1. Who Took Longer to Finish
the Chapter and the Test?

2. Who Performed Better on the

Test?

2. Who Showed More Stress?

 MULTITASKING AND SOCIAL
NETWORKING AFFECT PERFORMANCE
AT SCHOOL (Karpinski et al., 2013)
US and European university students
More Social Media Use = lower GPA moderated
by multitasking (only in US sample, not in
European sample).
US students: More multitasking = lower GPAs
The non-multitaskers had higher GPAs on
average, and the highest GPAs if they used SNS
for a small amount of minutes/day.
POSSIBLE EFFECTS ON STUDENTS

Possible Impaired Social Skills (Small,

2010; Turkle, 2012)
Possible Shallow Thinking (Carr, 2010)
Possible Disruption in the Development
of Stage-Sensitive Brain Pathways
(Healy, 1998; Blakemore, 2006;
Gazzaley, 2011)
IS IT POSSIBLE THAT TECHNOLOGY HELPS
MAKE BETTER BRAINS?
WHAT ARE THE COSTS OF
MULTITASKING?
1. Attention Difficulties
2. Poor Decision Making
3. Breadth vs. Depth of Material
4. Information Overload
5. Internet Addiction
6. Poor Sleep Habits
7. Overuse of Caffeine
8. Mental Health Issues
EVEN TINY DISTRACTIONS CAN DOUBLE
OR TRIPLE MISTAKES (Altmann, 2013)

Task was picking out vowels, red letters,

even numbers, etc.
Interrupted with letters to type in for 2.8
or 4.4 seconds
2.8 sec interruptions doubled errors
4.4 sec interruptions tripled errors
In conclusion, our core empirical finding is that when
someone is momentarily interrupted or distracted and
then returns to their task, they may do so without
obvious hesitation, but with an increased chance of
resuming at a different point in their train of thought
than they might have otherwise. This contextual
jitter being taken out of the moment and landed
back in a slightly different place may be why
even momentary interruptions can seem jarring when
they occur during a cognitively engaging activity.
HOW WELL DO WE PREDICT THE COSTS
OF DIVIDED ATTENTION? (Finley et al.,
2013)
Task 1: Keep cursor on target that moves
around erratically
Task 2 n-back
Estimate how they will do on n-back if both at
same time
Result: overestimate costs of dual tasking as
n-back got harder
Result: correlation of predicted and actual
decrement = 0 no meta cognition
SIMILAR RESULT FOUND FROM DRIVING
STUDIES (Horrey &Lesch, 2009)
Gave participants control over when
to initiate secondary tasks during a
driving task.
Participants did not strategically
delay initiation of secondary tasks
until driving conditions were less
demanding.
Suggest a failure of judicious use of
metacognition about divided
attention
ADAPTING TO MOBILE TABLET DEVICES
(Park, 2013)
New high school users of mobile tablets - 1 year
tracking
Observation of use: CONTINUOUS PARTIAL ATTENTION!
3 Self-regulations strategies evolved:
Preventative remove device, customize device
(close apps)
Pre-emptive self-regulation schedule distraction
breaks (TECH BREAKS)
Ongoing negotiation internal struggle
The tablet was perceived to be both an efficient tool that
maximizes the use of time and a playful device that is
distracting.
PAYING ATTENTION IS DIFFICULT
INATTENTIONAL BLINDNESS AND
ATTENTION
 INATTENTION BLINDNESS

Gorilla study only 44% noticed

the gorilla
Brain scans show inattentional
blindness with more activity in
brain areas associated with
multitasking
THEIR BRAIN GETS DISTRACTED AND
THEY ARE UNABLE TO DELAY
GRATIFICATION
University of Copenhagen study
Two groups:
GROUP 1: watch funny video
GROUP 2: not allowed to watch but saw
link to video
Group 2 hears Group 1 laughing
Watch video of basketball players and count
the passes
Group 2 did worse!
 MARSHMALLOW STUDY
Late 1960s-early 1970s
600 4-to-6 year olds
33% delay gratification
Long term effects
Higher SAT scores
Higher education
Lower BMI!
50 years later more active Prefrontal
Cortex and less active in addiction area
Later study shows that it may be predicted
by reliable tester = reliable parent
MARSHMALLOW STUDY
WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF SMARTPHONES
ON DISTRACTION?
Smartphone users check between 14 and
150 times a day
2:22 to 3:18 each time (plus 3:06 on tablet)
Only 23% of time when they have
something to do rest is just playing
around
42% when time to kill (women 48%; 18-
34 55%)
34% immediately after notification; 40%
18-34
LOOK AT WHAT THEY DO!
 THE EPITOME OF
MULTITAKSING WAS
INTRODUCED AT THE 2013
CONSUMER ELECTRONICS
SHOW
MEET THE BRAND NEW
iPotty
 CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
Polychronic vs. Monochronic Cultures
 MONOCHRONIC LIFESTYLE

Individualistic
Time has structure/meaning
Sequential To Do Lists
Deadlines/Sub-tasks
Highly focused
Rigid Schedule
Committed to the job, not
relationships
Closed doors
Work is work; Personal time is
personal
 MONOCHRONIC CULTURES

United States (?)

Northern Europe
(particularly
Germany, England,
Switzerland) and
Scandinavia
Canada
Eastern Asia
 POLYCHRONIC LIFESTYLE

Collectivistic
Time has no meaning (often late)
Unstructured time/Flexible
Deadlines their way
Task switching
React as the days events evolve
Committed to the people they
work with
Open doors
Work is life family, friends, work
all blend together
 POLYCHRONIC CULTURES

Latin America (Brazil,

Peru)
France
Russia
Mexico
Arab Middle East
Africa
Asia Philippines,
Pakistan, India
 POLYCHRONS vs. MONOCHRONS

Differences in working/learning style

Differences in response style
Clash between styles:
Teacher-Student
Parent-Child
Boss-Employee
Every child learns a time perspective that is appropriate
to the values and needs of his society. Alexander Gonzalez
& Phillip Zimbardo
 IS TECHNOLOGY BAD FOR OUR
CHILDRENS HEALTH?

STUDY 1 (Rosen, Lim, Felt, Carrier, Cheever, Lara-Ruiz,

Mendoza, & Rokkum, 2014)
1,030 parents of children, preteens, & teens
Assessed: Health (psychological, physical,
behavioral, attentional), healthy/unhealthy eating,
daily exercise, media use

RESEARCH QUESTION: Does media use predict poor

health after accounting for demographics (parent/child),
poor eating habits, and lack of exercise?
 THE MODEL OF THE IMPACT OF MEDIA
AND TECHNOLOGY ON HEALTH

???
Parent/Child Demographics

LACK OF
EXERCISE
MEDIA POOR
USE HEALTH
UNHEALTHY
EATING
 PREDICTORS OF POOR HEALTH
(after accounting for demographics, eating habits, exercise)

Children:
Total daily media use
Pre-teens:
Total daily media use
Daily video game playing
Teens:
Total daily media use
Daily video game playing
Daily hours online
 DOES MULTITASKING INFLUENCE
HEALTH?
Study 2: Rosen, Whaling, Rab, Carrier, &
Cheever (2013)
1,143 teens, young adults, adults
Examined personality and mood disorders
Multitasking predicted INCREASED symptoms
of:
Major Depression and Mania
Narcissism, Antisocial Personality
Disorder, Compulsive Personality Disorder,
Paranoid Personality Disorder
 MEDIA MULTITASKING AND GIRLS
Pea, Nass et al. (2012)
3,641 girls 8-12
Negative social well being predicted by
media use, video use, e-communication
use
More face-to-face = more social well
being, better sleep
Less sleep predicted by media
multitasking, video use, online
communication, television in room
TRAINING OUR STUDENT BRAINS FOR
THE BEST POSSIBLE LEARNING
OUTCOMES

Training Focus and Attention

Learning to be Better Multitaskers
Learning to be Metacognitive
Understanding the Value of
Uninterrupted Sleep
Learning About the Brain, Brain
Chemistry and Productivity
THEY NEED TO LEARN HOW TO FOCUS
FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME!
 TRAINING THE BRAIN TO FOCUS

TECHNOLOGY BREAKS
Schools, Homes,
Restaurants, Business
Meetings
1 minute/15 minutes
Trains the brain to stop
producing anxiety-
laden neurotransmitters
 CAN VIDEO GAMES ENHANCE
PERFORMANCE?
(Anguera et al., 2014)
Study of 174 adults, 30 from each decade: 20s, 30s,
40s, 50s, 60s, 70s
Assessed multitasking on NeuroRacer
Two tasks: react to signs or drive (or both)
Then train 60+ year olds for 12 total hours
3 groups: multitasking, single task, control
Follow-up: 1 month and 6 months
Compared to control group of 20 year olds not
trained.
Also assessed how well they did on other executive
function tasks
 TRAINED
OLDER
ADULTS

UNTRAINED
TRAINING 20 YEAR
RESULTS OLDS
 YOUNGER
AND OLDER
BRAINS
BEFORE
TRAINING

OLDER
BRAINS
AFTER
TRAINING
 IT IS ALSO ABOUT
METACOGNITION
Knowing how your brain works
Knowing how you best function
in a tech-rich environment and
how to reduce distractions
Knowing when your brain is
overloaded and how to best
calm it down
 POSSIBLE METACOGNITIVE
QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS
The best room for me to study in at home is
___________ because ___________.
Some ways that I can avoid distractions
while studying at home are ___________.
A good place for me to put my phone before
a class or before studying is ___________.
If I use technology in class, some ways that I
can make sure I dont get distracted are
___________.
 OUR RECENT STUDY:
METACOGNITION IN ACTION

4 university classes;
n=175
What is your
30 minutes video major and why
lecture did you choose it?

Interruptions: no
texts, 4 text, 8 texts
IMPACT OF INTERRUPTIONS

72%
8 TEXT GROUP DID
WORSE THAN 0

= TEXT GROUP
 DID ANYONE SHOW
METACOGNITION?

Those who IMMEDIATELY read and

respond to a text message got a
C
Those who waited for a few
minutes to read or respond got an
A!
MORE META COGNITIVE QUESTIONS
FOR YOUR STUDENTS
When I am reading a book I need a
______________ environment.
I try to avoid technology distractions by
_____________________________________.
If I left my phone at home I would
______________________________________.
When I am studying I can listen to _______
type of music.
WHAT DOES A BRAIN NEED
TO STAY HEALTHY?
Sleep for synaptic rejuvenation
Time away from technology
Communication Skills
Creative Thinking
Calmness
Periodic resetting
 THE BRAIN NEEDS SLEEP
Doctors recommend 9 hours per night
for preteens and teenagers!
Average teen sleeps 6.1 hours per
school night; 10.3 on weekend
Sleep Debt = 12 hours per week
80% of teenagers say they rarely or
never get a good nights sleep
HOW DO SMARTPHONES INTERRUPT
SLEEP AND RESTFULNESS?

62% reach for it immediately

upon awakening
74% of 18-24 year olds

79% within 15 minutes of

awakening
89% of 18-24 year olds
 SLEEP AND BRAIN ISSUES
Sleep is critical for many reasons
5% less active prefrontal cortex
Synaptic Rejuvenation
o Consolidation and Pruning
o Flush our toxins
Default Mode Network (DMN)
Creative Thinking
Day Dreaming and Real
Dreaming
Neuroplasticity new cells and more
WHAT DO THEY DO IN THE HOUR
BEFORE SLEEP?
AND THEY SLEEP WITH THEIR PHONE ON!
WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOUR CELL PHONE
WHEN YOU GO TO SLEEP?

Leave the
ringer on
Put ringer (44%)
on vibrate
(31%)
WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH SHOW
ABOUT TEEN SLEEP DISRUPTION?
Is it the light? NOPE! (well, a little)
Is it couch potato activities? NOPE
(in fact a little nighttime TV, reading or
music helps!)
Is it their computer use? NOPE
SO, WHAT IS IT?
Incessant multitasking
Smartphone use
Cell phone interrupted sleep
 WHAT HAPPENS DURING
NORMAL SLEEP CYCLES?

Synaptic Rejuvenation
Default Mode Network
WHAT HAPPENS IF SLEEP IS DISRUPTED?

Less Deep Sleep/Disrupted Cycles

Instant Dreaming
Lack Of Consolidation/Pruning
Less Time For Creative Thinking
 SLEEP RECOMMENDATIONS
NO ACTIVE TECHNOLOGY USE DURING
THE LAST HOUR BEFORE SLEEP
No smartphone
Limited Technology only passive or
well-learned (which takes less structural
and biochemical brain functioning)
Options:
Read a paper book
Watch TV favorite or predictable
show
Listen to music only favorites
Learning a Performing it after
new task lots of practice
 SO WHAT DOES A WORKING
BRAIN ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE?

DO WE REALLY ONLY USE 10% OF

OUR BRAIN?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSKIkXvqruI&feature=plcp
AVATAR TRAILER
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rw3jXo1ZiY&f
eature=plcpOBAMA SPEECH
 WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT HOW
TECHNOLOGY IMPACTS THE BRAIN?
More social network friends:
size of hippocampus and amygdala
Gamers
striatum activity (risk/reward)
Violent Game Players
aggression areas; amygdala
Web Addicts
overall activity; efficiency of neural
conduction
PART OF THE PROBLEM IS
BEHIND THEIR FOREHEAD

PREFRONTAL
CORTEX
WHAT DOES THE PREFRONTAL
CORTEX DO?
Executive controller
Working memory
Attention & focus
Decision making
Multitasking control
Impulse control
 NERVE CELLS IN THE
PREFRONTAL CORTEX DO
NOT FUNCTION WELL FROM
BIRTH
 INFANT NEURONS START
WITHOUT A COATING CALLED
MYELIN
 AS CHILDREN GROW NEURONS
START TO MYELINATE BUT SOME
SIGNALS STILL ESCAPE
EVENTUALLY ALL NEURONS ARE
MYELINATED BUT THE LAST AREA
IS THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX
 AND THAT IS NOT COMPLETE
UNTIL MID-TO-LATE 20s OR LATER
WHAT ABOUT BRAIN DEVELOPMENT?

Surge of gray matter prior to

puberty
Then unused brain cells pruned &
consolidated
 A STUDYING BRAIN

PREFRONTAL
CORTEX
 ITS NOT ONLY ABOUT BRAIN
STRUCTURE
ITS ALSO ABOUT BRAIN CHEMISTRY
TECHNOLOGY & ANXIETY
67% of teens and young adults
check their phones every 15 minutes
or less
Half get anxious if they cant check
75% of teens/young adults sleep
with their phone ringer on or set to
vibrate
Half of all adults use their
smartphone as their alarm clock
 RECENT STUDY
(Rosen, Carrier & Cheever, 2014)

% check in at least once an hour or all the time

GENERATION WORK-
SOCIAL PERSONAL PHONE
TEXTS SCHOOL
MEDIA EMAIL CALLS
EMAIL
iGENERATION 67% 38% 31% 27% 20%
NET
58% 29% 28% 22% 26%
GENERATION
GENERATION
29% 17% 22% 20% 15%
X
BABY
12% 18% 11% 11% 5%
BOOMERS
 RECENT STUDY
(Rosen, Carrier & Cheever, 2014)
Percentage moderately or highly anxious
ANXIETY ABOUT
GENERATION ANXIETY ABOUT
NOT CHECKING IN
NOT CHECKING IN
WITH SOCIAL MEDIA
WITH TEXTS
(FACEBOOK)
iGENERATION 48% 25%
NET GENERATION 45% 21%
GENERATION X 24% 12%
BABY BOOMERS 11% 7%

YOUR CONFERENCE
8% 3%
GROUP
OUR RECENT STUDY OF ANXIETY AND
OBSESSION
(Cheever, Rosen, Carrier, & Chavez, 2014)

163 college students

Half allowed to keep/use smartphones
Half had smartphones removed
THE TASK? JUST SIT THERE AND DO
NOTHING NO TALKING, NO SCHOOL
WORK NOTHING
Measured anxiety three times: 10, 30,
60 minutes after losing access to the
phone
 WHO WAS IMPACTED THE MOST?
Heavy Daily
40 Phone Users
Increased Anxiety

38

Moderate
36
Daily Phone
Users

34 Light Daily
Phone
Users
32
Time 1 Time 2 Time 3
HERES WHAT CAN HAPPEN FROM TOO
MUCH ANXIETY
PHANTOM POCKET VIBRATION
SYNDROME
 WHAT HAPPENS BIOCHEMICALLY
WHEN PEOPLE TASK SWITCH?
Recent Stanford University Study (Yeykelis
et al., 2014)
Watched task switches on computer screen
Also measured arousal
Switched from one screen to another every
19 seconds
Most common (1 in 4 switches):
E-mail (40 seconds per visit)
Facebook (78 seconds per visit)
WHAT HAPPENED TO AROUSAL
LEVELS?
BEFORE AFTER
SWITCH SWITCH
IS THIS THE SAME FOR ALL TYPES
OF SWITCHES?

Divided into work and

entertainment websites
Looked at switches from
work entertainment and
entertainment work
ONLY INCREASED AROUSAL SWITCHING
FROM WORK TO ENTERTAINMENT
(FACEBOOK, VIDEOS AND GAMES)
 HEALTHY BRAIN ISSUES
1. Executive Controller
2. Dimming activation (reduced oxygen
flow)
3. Biochemistry of neurons
4. Neuroplasticity new connections
axons, dendrites, biochemical transfer
5. Synaptic Rejuvenation: Pruning and
Consolidation
6. Default Mode Network: Mind wandering,
daydreaming, creativity
7. The function of sleep
HOW TO RESET THEIR BRAINS TO KEEP
THEM HEALTHY
Nature Breaks (live or virtual)
Music/Art
Exercise
Meditation/Biofeedback
Laughter
Hot Bath
Talking (live) to a friend (3:1 ratio of
positives)
Practicing a foreign language
Playing a musical instrument
MINDFUL MEDITATION (MBSR) STUDY
(Bakosh, 2013)
8-10 week randomized control study
18 classrooms (1st - 5th grades)
383 students, culturally diverse
1 hour teacher training
Daily audio tracks 10 minutes long
Grades go up (GPA, math, science, social
studies) including regular students, special ed
and ADHD
Teachers less stress
Similar results at all grade levels
Classroom behavior gets better
 ENHANCING MULTITASKING THROUGH
MEDITATION (McCarthy, 2013)

Four pretasks: singletasking, multitasking, meditation,

tech holiday (no task)
10 minute task of watching slide show
Then used difficult task (from Ophir, Nass) ignore blue
rectangles
Identify which had changed orientation after viewing
100 milliseconds (very short time)
RESULTS:
Meditation group 25% faster than multitasking group
Downtime 15% faster
Single tasking not different from multitasking
AND FINALLY
THREE STRATEGIES FOR OUR STUDENTS
Training Students to Focus
& Attend

Teaching Meta Resetting Their

Cognition Brains
Knowing When to Modern Day
Focus and When to Coffee Break
Switch
Tk u 4 ur tme. r thr n e qs 4
me?