Task switching

So apparently it is not possible to blog while in the final throes of a PhD. Crazy experience but now complete. But this got me to thinking about divided attention and a conversation I'm engaged in on LinkedIn. Basically some "researchers" who work for an advertising group have suggested that young people, because of their screen time, are cognitively speedier and better at task switching and integrating information from these sources than their elders were. The implication being that this is transferrable to other aspects of life. The researchers used one of my favourite methods (EEG) to determine this. At first I was a little nervous. Obviously I'm on the mature side and pretty clearly I have trouble with switching tasks all the time. But then I got to reading and thinking.....

Here's the story:
http://www.clickz.com/clickz/news/2231284/millennial-brain-responds-differently-to-digital-media?goback=.gde_1861379_member_195484606

First of all, no one can compare my performance at say, 21 years of age, to that of a 21 year old now. Our contexts are different and I had no screen time back then. Not to mention the fact that the EEG methods used now did not exist then. Also, some of these EEG methods remain unproven. Secondly, I suspect that all this "speediness" simply reflects a skill set and not an evolutionary change in people.  We just don't change that quickly from one generation to the next. Third, research has long ago shown us that reaction times increase with age and perhaps some cognitive processes slow down. So this idea that younger people are faster isn't really new. But most importantly, what is so great about being faster? I suppose it would make younger members of the tribe more able to defend territory, get mates and find food etc etc. But beyond that, there are other implications for today's society. For example I worry about a world in which the speed of your thumbs or the speed with which you can scan a screen determine economic success and confer power over others. And most especially, I worry about a world that places such a high premium on youth, whether based on looks or speed of cognitive processing. To solve the problems we face, we need older AND younger brains working together and we need to stop comparing them as though one were better than the other. So with apologies to those researchers, I think we should all think twice when we read reports like this.

Well, that's my gripe for the day I guess. I'm going to switch tasks now :), but more on these brain themes as they occur.