University of Groningen Exploring the Variability of Media Multitasking Choice Behaviour Using a Network Approach Wiradhany
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University of Groningen Exploring the variability of media multitasking choice behaviour using a network approach Wiradhany, Wisnu; Baumgartner, Susanne E. Published in: Behaviour & Information Technology DOI: 10.1080/0144929X.2019.1589575 IMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised to consult the publisher's version (publisher's PDF) if you wish to cite from it. Please check the document version below. Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Publication date: 2019 Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research database Citation for published version (APA): Wiradhany, W., & Baumgartner, S. E. (2019). Exploring the variability of media multitasking choice behaviour using a network approach. Behaviour & Information Technology, 38(12), 1355-1368. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2019.1589575 Copyright Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). The publication may also be distributed here under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the “Taverne” license. More information can be found on the University of Groningen website: https://www.rug.nl/library/open-access/self-archiving-pure/taverne- amendment. Take-down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Downloaded from the University of Groningen/UMCG research database (Pure): http://www.rug.nl/research/portal. For technical reasons the number of authors shown on this cover page is limited to 10 maximum. Download date: 28-09-2021 Behaviour & Information Technology ISSN: 0144-929X (Print) 1362-3001 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tbit20 Exploring the variability of media multitasking choice behaviour using a network approach Wisnu Wiradhany & Susanne E. Baumgartner To cite this article: Wisnu Wiradhany & Susanne E. Baumgartner (2019) Exploring the variability of media multitasking choice behaviour using a network approach, Behaviour & Information Technology, 38:12, 1355-1368, DOI: 10.1080/0144929X.2019.1589575 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2019.1589575 © 2019 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group Published online: 18 Mar 2019. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 993 View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 2 View citing articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=tbit20 BEHAVIOUR & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 2019, VOL. 38, NO. 12, 1355–1368 https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2019.1589575 Exploring the variability of media multitasking choice behaviour using a network approach Wisnu Wiradhany a and Susanne E. Baumgartnerb aDepartment of Experimental Psychology and Research School of Behavioural Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; bAmsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY Many researchers have used the Media Multitasking Index (MMI) for investigating media Received 21 September 2018 multitasking behaviour. While useful as a means to compare inter-individual multitasking levels, Accepted 22 February 2019 the MMI disregards the variability in media multitasking choice behaviour: certain media KEYWORDS combinations are more likely to be selected than others, and these patterns might differ from Media multitasking; media one population to another. The aim of the present study was to examine media multitasking ff use questionnaire; media choices in di erent populations. For this means, we employed a social network approach to multitasking index; network render MMI responses collected in eight different populations into networks. The networks analysis showed that the level of media multitasking as measured by the network densities differed across populations, yet, the pattern of media multitasking behaviour was similar. Specifically, media combinations which involved texting/IMing, listening to music, browsing, and social media were prominent in most datasets. Overall the findings indicate that media multitasking behaviours might be confined within a smaller set of media activities. Accordingly, instead of assessing a large number of media combinations, future studies might consider focusing on a more limited set of media types. 1. Introduction 2013; Baumgartner et al. 2014). Reviews have also indi- Media multitasking, the behaviour of consuming mul- cated that the findings have been mixed (van der Schuur tiple media streams simultaneously or consuming one et al. 2015; Uncapher et al. 2017), with meta-analyses media stream while doing another activity, has become showing weak associations between media multitasking increasingly prevalent over the years (Rideout, Foehr, and difficulties in information processing (Wiradhany and Roberts 2010). It is thus not surprising that research- and Nieuwenstein 2017) and everyday functioning (Wir- ers have begun to investigate whether engaging in media adhany and Koerts, forthcoming). multitasking frequently is related to potential difficulties While the mixed findings could be the result of stat- in information processing and everyday functioning. istical, small-study, or publication biases (Ioannidis With regard to everyday functioning, studies have 2005; Button et al. 2013; Wiradhany and Nieuwenstein found that heavy media multitaskers (HMMs) reported 2017), it could also be the case that previous studies more problems related to executive function (Baumgart- have been comparing different populations of media ner et al. 2014; Magen 2017), and they reported increased multitaskers. Indeed, previous studies have been using levels of attentional lapses and mind-wandering (Ralph the Media Multitasking Index (MMI; Ophir, Nass, and et al. 2013) in comparison to light media multitaskers Wagner 2009; Pea et al. 2012) computed from responses (LMMs). However, with regard to the efficiency of infor- from the Media Use Questionnaire (MUQ) to dis- mation processing of media multitaskers, the findings tinguish HMMs and LMMs. MMI captures a broad have been mixed, with some studies reporting that range of media multitasking behaviour combinations, HMMs performed worse in various performance-based with the number of combinations varying from 36 (Moi- tasks while others found no differences (Cardoso-Leite sala et al. 2016) to 144 (Ophir, Nass, and Wagner 2009; et al. 2015; Wiradhany and Nieuwenstein 2017), or Wiradhany and Nieuwenstein 2017), and the types of even that HMMs performed better (Alzahabi and Becker combinations ranging from reading while listening to CONTACT Wisnu Wiradhany [email protected] Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Groningen, Grote Kruistraat 2/1, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands © 2019 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/ 4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. 1356 W. WIRADHANY AND S. E. BAUMGARTNER music to playing games while having a phone conversa- simultaneously (Salvucci and Taatgen 2008; Courage tion. The basic idea underlying the MMI is that the con- et al. 2015). As a result, people develop different strat- cept of media multitasking is best captured by including egies to deal with interferences induced by multitasking all possible combinations of media activities and that on (see for examples, Adler and Benbunan-Fich 2012; Sal- the individual level it does not matter whether someone vucci and Bogunovich 2010). One of such strategies is multitasks frequently by listening to music while reading, to select media pairs which induce lower cognitive or by watching television while gaming. demands. Specifically, Wang et al. (2015) introduced Given that the MMI has been used as a single overall 11 basic cognitive dimensions of media multitasking score of media multitasking, little is known about the behaviours. They showed that the likelihood of media combinations of media underlying the score. Specifically, multitasking increases as the cognitive demands created from the many media multitasking combinations within each dimension decrease. For example, they assessed in the MMI, we do not know the number of showed that media multitasking combinations which combinations people typically engage in, and which engage more sensory modalities and those with an over- media types are typically used for the primary activity lap of used modalities are less frequently combined. or the secondary activity. Additionally, patterns of Similarly, in a cross-sectional study, Carrier et al. media multitasking might vary across populations. For (2009) found that participants preferred ‘easy’ (e.g. lis- instance, media multitasking behaviours among younger tening to music while eating) compared to ‘difficult’ populations might differ from those among older popu- media multitasking combinations (e.g. reading while lations, in that younger people use different types