Forget Multi-tasking

Study Shows Those who Type Don't Listen

LONDON, April 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Global Kaspersky Lab Study Reveals the Risk of Digital Dependency at Work  

A new study commissioned by Kaspersky Lab shows that employees overestimate their ability to multi-task. While they think they can type and listen properly at the same time, their brain says they can't. So Digital Amnesia, the experience of forgetting information you entrust to a digital device has significant impact in the workplace, as it could mean that potentially insecure devices hold the only record of a conversation.  

The study^[i], which explored the presence and impact of Digital Amnesia in the work environment, found that 44 per cent of business people admit that typing notes into a digital device means they miss valuable contextual, emotional or behavioural clues that are vital for accurate understanding, and 13 per cent confess to losing a digital record and finding themselves unable to remember a word of what was said.

The research also discovered that many business professionals are willing to sacrifice active listening for the ease of typing a quick, real-time record of a meeting or presentation. Nearly half (46 per cent) are adamant that the factual accuracy of typed and stored notes is more important than the nuance of conversation and two-thirds (67 per cent) add that digital notes can be backed-up and shared, which is better than relying on the personal memory of a conversation.

Dr Gorkan Ahmetoglu, Lecturer of Business Psychology at University College London, commented on the research, "Human memory is limited. The disadvantage with simply listening, and relying on memory, is that transferring something from short term 'working memory' to long-term memory is difficult and success depends on how well we understand the topic being discussed. If the information is unfamiliar or we don't quite grasp it, noting as much as possible down on a digital device means it can be used to review and build our understanding later."

However, if the listener has a good working knowledge of the topic, the benefits of Digital Amnesia may be less significant.

Ahmetoglu explains, "If one is very familiar with what is being said, then being present "in mind" may be a more effective way to absorb the full bucket of information presented than by noting it on a device - letting our working memory connect the dots in real-time."