Emilie Ackerman

Throughout my life, I never thought too much about the concept of multitasking as I had always thought that this was a normal part of my life. At jobs I have had, I was very used to interacting with customers, listening to coworkers, and answering phones all at the same time. While this can be normal throughout our daily lives, I have never given much thought to how many times it has made me lose my train of thought or made me forget what I was doing in the moment. 

While multitasking has made me forget things, I realize it has also made my anxiety go up. As a result, my mind becomes paralyzed as I try to get things done as efficiently and correctly as possible. While multitasking is a vital skill in the workplace, it is often perceived as negative in the context of media consumption. 

Multitasking in media consumption is the act of using two or more digital streams simultaneously, which I often find myself doing. When this happens to me, I notice how I unconsciously pick up my phone while watching a television show and scroll through social media, allowing my mind to fall into autopilot as I mindlessly and repeatedly scroll through social media or other digital content without purpose. However, this makes sense as the most popular source of media consumption today is short-form content — TikTok, YouTube Shorts, etc.

As someone who wants to go into young entertainment marketing, this concept is very relevant as it largely affects the way kids consume media today. While I grew up with technology, it did not drive my childhood as it was not as advanced then. Back then, I did other activities that kept me occupied like , trading Silly Bandz. playing with my stuffed animals, or wait for a new episode of a Disney show to air on television. However, kids today have always had technology and social media at the center of their lives — since the moment they could walk, so they do not know a life without it. They are used to the constant notifications and fragmented attention. This is highly important to note as this impacts networks like Disney and Nickelodeon who create media for kids. It interferes with their learning, engagement, and the lasting impact of their stories. 

This fragmented attention is similar to the term local sleep, when small specific parts of your brain enter a temporary sleep-like state while the rest of your brain remains awake and functional. This is especially detrimental to the brains of children, as their prefrontal cortices are still developing, which can negatively impact memory, learning, and engagement. 

For companies that create kids’ media, this is a challenge. They need to develop media that does not distract them and keeps them engaged. By understanding how kids today consume media and recognizing terms like multitasking and local sleep, we can create content that helps us devise solutions to this issue.