Instant Messaging Found to Slow Students' Reading

More Time on Task

The messages, which included questions such as “What classes are you taking this semester?” were designed to be typical in context and in frequency to the instant messages students would normally receive on their computers.

Even after taking into account the time students spent on the instant messaging, the researchers found, the third group took about 15 minutes longer than the other two groups to complete the reading—roughly 50 percent more time than the other two groups took.

All three groups, however, fared about the same on a test given later on to check their understanding of the text. The researchers said that last finding runs counter to other studies of students’ electronic media use, which suggest that students’ academic performance suffers when, for example, a television is playing in the background.

A study the authors published last year, in fact, found that students who reported high use of electronic media were more likely than avid book readers to have problems with becoming distracted in their reading.

“We thought for sure that we were going to find that the multitasking students were going to show a decrement in performance,” said Ms. Bowman.

Pausing to Reread?

Researchers theorized that one reason that the multitasking students did as well—but took longer—may be that they went back and reread passages after they paused to answer instant messages.

Study co-author Laura E. Levine, an associate professor of psychology at Central Connecticut, said that, although their study focuses on college-age students, the findings probably also hold true for younger students, many of who are also regular users of instant messaging on their home computers.

Their study is one of several on the effects of electronic technology on learning that are due to be presented at the August 14-17 meeting. Other studies focus on video games and how they affect learning or children’s predisposition to take part in violent activities.

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