Texting and Watching TV at the Same Time May be Damaging Your Memory

Apparently, this sort of multitasking could damage your brain. Thus far, this research has only been done to teenagers, but hey, we might as well keep a lookout just in case. After all, there was an article about how our phones could trigger premature Alzheimer's.

This new Canadian research found that teenagers who divide their attention between devices like video games, phones and TV have the tendency to score lower in Math and English. "Media multitasking", which is using different medium of media at the same time (e.g using your phone while watching television), is also connected to greater impulsivity and a poorer working memory.

Researchers questioned 73 students about how many hours per week they spent watching TV, playing video games, talking on the phone, using instant messaging, and other media-related activities. They then rated how often they combined these activities. At the same time, their grades were monitored.

The result revealed that those who spend more time media multitasking performed worse academically than those who don't. These students also scored low in memory tests and were more impulsive.

However, one of the researchers of the study commented that regulating the amount of time teenagers spend with their media devices isn't necessarily a way to improve their grades.