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Study: Push Notifications As Distracting As Taking a Call

Posted by samzenpus on from the keep-your-eyes-on-the-road-your-hands-upon-the-wheel dept.

itwbennett writes: Researchers at Florida State University have found that simply being aware of a missed call or text can have the same damaging effect on task performance as actually using a mobile phone. 'Although these notifications are short in duration, they can prompt task-irrelevant thoughts, or mind-wandering,' the researchers wrote in their paper. In further bad news for chronic multitaskers, a new study by researchers at the University of Connecticut finds that 'students who multitasked while doing homework had to study longer, and those who frequently multitasked in class had lower grades on average than their peers who multitasked less often.'

60 comments

  1. Music? by invictusvoyd · · Score: 2

    I frequently listen to music whilst working , studying , coding etc. Does that count as multitasking? AFAIK it only enhances my concentration and cuts off ambient noise .

    1. Re:Music? by BitZtream · · Score: 1

      Yes, but in a good way.

      Music is something that prevents you from being distracted by other noises, and because you aren't really paying attention to it so it's not a distraction.

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      Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
    2. Re:Music? by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      It depends on *how* you listen ... if you're singing along and dancing, well, it's probably not helping you any.

      But, like most people, if you have it on in the background and it's masking other stuff and/or you're using it to keep you focused, it's probably helping, just like you said.

      I was always a code with headphones kind of guy, and to this day there's a lot of tasks I'd rather be doing with some music to give me an added push.

      But in this case, if your phone is beeping to tell you something shiny has happened, then I have seen a LOT of people who will not be able to ignore that for even a few seconds. For some people, the moment the phone makes a sound they're grabbing for it. It's almost Pavlovian, and pretty much means you'll get derailed almost instantly.

      In fact, when I see most people with cell phones it's almost like "squirrel!" and then they're completely derailed to find out what happened. I can totally see that happening in the middle of studying derailing you from taking stuff in.

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    3. Re:Music? by oh_my_080980980 · · Score: 1

      No. RTA. "These results indicated that stimulative music is a stronger distractor and obstructs cognitive processing more than sedative music does." http://www.studentpulse.com/ar... So it depends on the music one is listening to.

      Bottom line, anything that distacts you from the task at hand, impairs your ability, contrary to what you may think.

    4. Re:Music? by tomxor · · Score: 1

      Music is something that prevents you from being distracted by other noises, and because you aren't really paying attention to it so it's not a distraction.

      Music is good for masking more distracting sound, but it can also be a distractor itself, this depends on both the task at hand and the particular piece of music.

      I find that when thinking about hard problems, any kind of music is really distracting i just want silence. Other times when less concious effort is required, anything from tedious and boring tasks to artistic tasks that rely more on subconscious, music can be a great tool for concentration or inspiration.

    5. Re:Music? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, but in a good way.

      Music is something that prevents you from being distracted by other noises, and because you aren't really paying attention to it so it's not a distraction.

      Silence actually stops you from being distracted. My problem with listening to music is that I am a musician and natually get involved. Other people listen to music and are emotionally involved. In each case, it's easy for music to take over your concentration.

      I work in an office where teams are distributed across the country so phone conversations are constant. I've been trying white noise to drown out the conversations around me. I know I don't pay attention to it, but I also don't know how effective it is.

    6. Re:Music? by BitZtream · · Score: 1

      ... Participating in the music (i.e. singing along or head banging) is more than just listening. Which is where you fail to understand my statement.

      Simply listening to music in the background while doing another task nearly universally makes people more productive and more focused than without.

      Bottom line, anything that distacts you from the task at hand, impairs your ability, contrary to what you may think.

      No shit Sherlock, you figure that one out all by yourself? I'm fairly certain that we all know that before any of these studies even started, after all ... THATS THE MEANING OF DISTRACTION.

      The point is that music itself is NOT distracting and is in fact helpful. Finding another excuse/distraction to not get the job done is the human's fault, not the music, but hey I'm guessing you're one of those guys that likes to have an excuse for everything, right?

      --
      Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
    7. Re:Music? by Skarjak · · Score: 1

      Again, read the study. You are wrong. Background music makes people less productive. This has been shown multiple times.

    8. Re:Music? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Depends on the task at hand.

      If it's an almost mind-numbingly boring task, then in a complete absence of other inputs your mind is going to start wandering just to save itself (may be more true of those prone to AD(H)D), in which case music that you're familiar with may balance that out and leave you with enough mental capacity to perform the task well.

      If it's something that requires (or deserves) a little more attention, like studying something you're not familiar with (vs review), then the music may well be distracting.

      If it's a totally mind-numbing task, then it probably doesn't matter if you're distracted.

    9. Re:Music? by tompaulco · · Score: 1

      I frequently listen to music whilst working , studying , coding etc. Does that count as multitasking? AFAIK it only enhances my concentration and cuts off ambient noise .

      I occasionally turn on music while coding, but I find it is distracting. If I hear a song I like on Pandora and am not sure if I gave it a thumbs up, I flip over to see if I did. Other times, I will find myself coding in silence, as the music cut off several hours earlier and I did not notice it.

      --
      If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
    10. Re:Music? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, it's not like you need to pay attention to "other noises" while driving, which is what TFA was about. Just listen to your music and ignore that honking or emergency vehicle that you are about to hit.

    11. Re:Music? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I cant do it, music is way too distracting. I have been an amateur musician all my life and I love listening to music. But I hear too much and it is very distracting. I hear the chords and scales and rhythms and my mind locks on that and starts analyzing what the musicians are doing and I cant concentrate on other tasks.

      For other people I know it is just background noise. They can really listen and pay attention but they can also just let it be in the background and do other tasks. I know for me music is the most distracting possible noise.

    12. Re: Music? by AvitarX · · Score: 1

      The study seems to say music I don't know is a distraction, which matches my experience.

      Also, I'm curious how it plays out to music free work for hours straight vs the study length.

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    13. Re:Music? by tompaulco · · Score: 1

      Depends on the task at hand.

      Agree. When I was in junior high I worked as a dishwasher. I pretty much had to have a radio going or a book or something to keep my mind from turning into goo. The same with driving. Driving is so repetitive and boring (other than the moments of sheer terror), that having a small distraction like music or talk radio keeps you from falling asleep or going brain dead. But it has to be the sort of distraction that your brain can instantly tune out when it needs to concentrate. Texting sure would not qualify.

      --
      If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
    14. Re:Music? by ruir · · Score: 1

      If you say so. There is instrumental music, you know? And between hearing music or slaving away in an open office and hearing all the private life of my workmates in their conversations over the phone, phones ringing, people talking, and some idiot or other that does not know yet phones were invented...actually music makes me far much more productive and with less murderous thoughts too.

    15. Re:Music? by MacTO · · Score: 1

      I suspect that the distraction of listening to music is much more dependent on the individual than push notifications would be. I know that I can't handle it, but it is easy to see how a person initiating and selecting their own background noise would be less of a distraction than externally initiated background noise that may have some sense of urgency initiated to it.

      You also have to consider the work environment and how much gets done over the course of a day, rather than the productivity as measured over a short period of time. If you throw on music to make the work environment more pleasing, you may be able to stick to the task for longer and get more done. I do this for housework. It is harder to see how this would be beneficial in the case of push notifications though, since those interruptions are largely out of the control of the user (outside of turning them off).

    16. Re:Music? by omnichad · · Score: 2

      At least with driving, my own thoughts are a bigger distraction. Driving is one of those things that it can be hard to give 100% focus on a long drive, and I've had it drop to near 0% focus without something to keep my brain active. I'd rather be at 30% than have my visual cortex taken over by straying thoughts and daydreams.

    17. Re:Music? by omnichad · · Score: 1

      My own mind is a bigger distraction. When I try to do any work on a computer at home, I have Netflix on in the background playing some relatively mindless entertainment. If I am doing any tedious work at all, I'd be more likely to end up on Slashdot than actually get work done. Having my brain partly engaged keeps it from wandering - like the groove of a record to the needle.

    18. Re:Music? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Completely anecdotally, I believe that there is a difference between "listening to music" and "generating background noise".

      When I play music that I am very familiar with, I don't need to spend energy listening to it. I can sign along, enjoy it, and still focus on the task at hand. I don't have to process the lyrics or work to learn the melodies. It's already in my brain. I'm merely blocking out other distractions with positive associations to the music.

      By the same token, I rarely listen to "new" music at work. If I do, I often get pulled into it. I'm listening for the lyrics, looking up facts about the lyrics and the musicians. I'm creating new musical memories and that gets in the way of flow.

      It feel akin to driving in a car. If I'm driving a route I drive all the time, it feels shorter than the first time I drove it. I don't have to pay attention to the environment outside of the roadway, since it's already part of my mental landscape. So I focus on the moving vehicles and the upcoming events (traffic, lights, exits, etc.) and have left-over capacity. In a new route, I have no references so I have to process a lot more information including all of those involving safety. A lot more mental work, and less capacity to think.

      So I'd say that music as background noise is not multitasking. And really listening to music is.

  2. Focus! by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 5, Funny

    students who multitasked while doing homework had to study longer, and those who frequently multitasked in class had lower grades on average than their peers who multitasked less often

    This groundbreaking research has discovered that people that focus on what they are doing perform better than people that don't. I think we need more studies to confirm this.

    1. Re:Focus! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Definitely, preferably by multiple sets of researchers where some sets are receiving push notifications and some aren't. Then we can do a meta study on the impact of distractions on research about the impact of distractions.

    2. Re:Focus! by oh_my_080980980 · · Score: 1

      Wow - because that's what they did in the study. Guess people are reading impaired.

    3. Re:Focus! by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Wow - because that's what they did in the study. Guess people are reading impaired.

      Pretty big case of whoosh.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    4. Re:Focus! by tompaulco · · Score: 1

      The assumption is that people can multi-task and that performance does not suffer because of multi-tasking.

      That is kind of a dumb assumption considering that dozens of studies have already shown otherwise.

      --
      If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
    5. Re:Focus! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The real joke is how many people are logging into Slashdot from work to agree that any distraction inhibits their productivity.

    6. Re:Focus! by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      Sorry, I could only make it partway through yo

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    7. Re:Focus! by sjames · · Score: 0

      Apparently we do considering all the multitasking devotees running around with an effective IQ of 80 or less.

  3. Distractions are distractions by Overzeetop · · Score: 3, Informative

    I'll just leave this here:

    http://www.studentpulse.com/ar...

    --
    Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
    1. Re:Distractions are distractions by asylumx · · Score: 1

      That study compares music to silence while the GP is comparing music to noise. I think there may still be room for additional research there.

    2. Re:Distractions are distractions by Overzeetop · · Score: 1

      Ambient noise is (almost) always present. Even a "silent" room, as such for the experiment, was subject to pencil noises, breathing, HVAC air, mechanical vibrations, (and clocks, computer fans, fluor. ballast hum, etc. as appropriate).

      Now ambient as in "people talking in a coffee house" is a whole different matter.

      --
      Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  4. ads by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No kidding they are distracting - why do you think advertisers are so keen on push API's?

    It's been known for a long time that push causes distractions.

  5. In my day... by puddingebola · · Score: 3, Insightful

    My generation just had drugs and alcohol to destroy our attention span.

    1. Re:In my day... by invictusvoyd · · Score: 1

      Now they have facebook , whatsapp and twitter .. hehe

    2. Re:In my day... by antdude · · Score: 1

      These days, they do all of those. :P

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
  6. Of course by Kohath · · Score: 2

    When the studies find out notifications aren't distracting, no one tells you about those studies.

    These types of headlines tend to lead to suggestions of more driving restrictions. But driving has never been safer. We don't need our every minute policed by punitive government overseers. We need fewer citizen/police interactions -- those interactions can be very dangerous.

    1. Re:Of course by oh_my_080980980 · · Score: 0

      Somebody failed high school science. The article explains why distraction impair cognitive ability. It is well document that people are distracted while texting or talking on their cell phone and driving. So fuck off. You want to endanger people's lives - move to Somalia.

    2. Re:Of course by jabuzz · · Score: 1

      Driving has never been safer because motor vehicles have never been safer and because structurally roads have never been safer. The last one means things like replacing intersections/crossroads with roundabouts where death rates drop 90% as a result.

      On the other hand there are numerous cases of people being killed by txting on a phone, just Google it. Just because driving is safer now than ever before does not justify someone txting on a phone while driving.

    3. Re:Of course by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      But driving has never been safer. We don't need our every minute policed by punitive government overseers.

      Driving is safer due to little things like mandatory seatbelt laws. Seatbelts are relatively new (50 years old), and were not widely used by people alive when they came out. In the mid-eighties, I think it was 50% adoption. It was 80% a decade ago. Now it's 90-95%. So, maybe [our driving actions] should be policed.

      There are also airbags, etc. And ABS and other technology can help avoid accidents.

      Now, what you would want to do is find out about accidents in general. Also, you'd want to try to isolate the causal factor of the cellphone, controlling for safety features (like ABS) in cars, and other factors. You know, what science has to do.

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    4. Re:Of course by Kohath · · Score: 1

      Just because driving is safer now than ever before does not justify someone txting on a phone while driving.

      But it does justify less aggressive policing of driving in general. We shouldn't have to bear the burden of enforcing as many rules and having them enforced upon us when the dangers are low and dropping all the time.

    5. Re:Of course by Kohath · · Score: 1

      So, maybe [our driving actions] should be policed.

      The justification for policing actions is "danger". When danger is less, there's less justification for policing actions.

      Driving is safer due to little things like mandatory seatbelt laws.

      Seatbelts help in crashes because of "actions" the same as they help in any other type of crashes. Danger is less.

    6. Re:Of course by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Driving is safer due to little things like mandatory seatbelt laws.

      If you are saying laws that require cars to have seatbelts in them then I am with you, if you are talking about laws that punish me for not reducing risk to my own person, then fuck you.

      Spoken as someone that always wears a seatbelt, because it would be stupid not to.

    7. Re:Of course by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      The justification for policing actions is "danger".

      It's not just danger. Regulations that improve traffic flows reduce the risk of accidents. Accidents are expensive and time consuming in addition to dangerous.

      Teslas are incredibly safe... people walk away from 100+ MPH collisions. If everyone drove one, could we get rid of all traffic laws?

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    8. Re:Of course by Kohath · · Score: 1

      We could get rid of most traffic "laws" regardless of Teslas. We don't need a whole code of laws and penalties for everything everyone does. Change them from "laws" with penalties and police enforcement of every minute detail to "rules" with police enforcement reserved for recklessness and drunk driving.

      People would drive more-or-less the same way they do now. No one wants to crash, and recklessness would still be punished by law. Police would be freed up to actually police bad guys instead of fundraising off of regular drivers.

    9. Re:Of course by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let me know when driving is no longer the leading cause of accidental death, then I might be willing to listen to your reasons for why you should be allowed to play with your phone while driving.

    10. Re:Of course by Kohath · · Score: 1

      Who are you to "allow" or disallow anyone to do anything? People are free. Stop reflexively using government and police to bully everyone every second of their lives by default.

  7. No, That Can't Be Right by Greyfox · · Score: 1

    I'm SURE that if we just make the office environment JUST A LITTLE more uselessly distracting, employee efficiency will improve dramatically! I'll just sign everyone up for IT downtime and maintenance notifications for every location the company has on the planet, with no way to unsubscribe!

    --

    I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

    1. Re:No, That Can't Be Right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean your company doesn't do that already? Space for one more?

  8. News flash: Being focused is more effective by msobkow · · Score: 1

    Is it any surprise that someone who is focused on the task at hand is more effective than a scatterbrain chasing a dozen different things at once?

    --
    I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
    1. Re:News flash: Being focused is more effective by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Is it any surprise that someone who is focused on the task at hand is more effective than a scatterbrain chasing a dozen different things at once?

      Right. But when the Citation? Police start yapping, you'll have one.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    2. Re:News flash: Being focused is more effective by msobkow · · Score: 1

      I hope they do arrest your ass if you're yapping/texting on a cell phone while driving -- and taze you for good measure!

      --
      I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
    3. Re:News flash: Being focused is more effective by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      I hope they do arrest your ass if you're yapping/texting on a cell phone while driving -- and taze you for good measure!

      Holy shit - I have to turn autocorrect off! I can't even figure out what the hell I wrote to you. I should be tazed for not looking before I sent it.

      Belay whatever the hell it looked like I was writing. Mea culpas all around.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  9. "Chronic Multitasker" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We all know a few of those people who can't keep their nose out of their phone for more than a minute. And nobody is surprised they perform as bad in an educational setting as they do in a social one.

  10. ***CAN*** have by sribe · · Score: 1

    Depends. They're describing how a lot of people react to missed calls and texts. Not me. I don't care enough. Seriously, I missed a text?BFD. I'll check it when I have a reasonable chance, and until then, I will not think about it at all.

    (Under normal circumstances, obviously. Relative in hospital, then I would be distracted.)

    1. Re:***CAN*** have by Moof123 · · Score: 1

      You sir, are the exception.

      I see folks in meetings (and my wife under many different circumstances) time and again get all jittery and distracted after getting a text. Usually it is less than 2-3 minute before they just HAVE to check before they can calm down and resume focus. Counting down till the phone slides out under the table is almost as much fun as playing Buzzword Bingo in a meeting.

      I know I am just as bad, so I tend to keep my phone on truly silent, and often don't take it with me to meetings unless I am expecting something important.

  11. And this is why I have email "push" turned off by davidwr · · Score: 1

    I don't get enough phone calls or texts for this to be an issue, but I get a ton of email.

    When I'm at my PC, I have "alert me" turned on, because it's usually worth the bother.

    But on my phone, I have everything on "manual." If someone emails me after business hours and I'm not expecting an email, I won't see it until the next day. If I am expecting it, I will either manually check it a few times that evening or I'll temporarily turn on "push."

    By the way, I do know how to put my phone on "silent" and on the rare cases when I absolutely need to be free of interruption, I use that feature.

    When I don't want to be tracked, there is "airplane mode/wifi off/bluetooth off", the "power off" feature, and, for some phones at least, battery removal. And if Donald Trump releases my phone number, there's always the industrial shredding machine/crusher.

    --
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  12. Needs to control for lyrics/instrumental by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Modern "pop music" usually has spoken messages. The mere presence of another human speaking at you probably has a unique effect on your attention and mental processing.

    I'd like to see how the results change when the music used is purely instrumental, with no vocalizations. (And not just common songs with their lyrics removed either, since the subjects may have memorized them and be "singing along".)

  13. watch? by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

    what if I get a push notification on a watch? is that destracting as well?

  14. Personal note by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... simply being aware of a missed call or text ...

    Multi-tasking went from a job skills concept, most likely related to time-slicing, to a pure mental activity concept. Then we had research showing women were better at multi-tasking. Whether this was limited to job tasks or included mental activity, people in general decided it was good to do 2 things at once, in contradiction to the age-old wisdom of batching. I'll make a distinction between multi-tasking and time-slicing here: Time-slicing has predictable and known mini-goals and rest points. Multi-tasking is "I'll do this for X seconds, then something different". Myself being goal orientated, I avoided multi-tasking. But I noticed that people who multi-tasked didn't achieve any more. In fact, the cost of stopping and starting again, produced worse results. The worst outcomes came from those people so obsessed with doing something else, they didn't realize how little they had achieved in their current activity.

    I spend a lot time in reflection and I notice it takes time to find my place when I'm interrupted, so I can't imagine anyone else having an 'instant on' for their mental activities. To that end I tend to turn-off alerts and alarms. While I can filter out the world, the whole point of those alerts and alarms is to interrupt my current activity, which they are very effective at doing. Once again, I notice the cost of those interruptions.

    ... the same damaging effect on task performance ...

    This exposes the heart of the delusion: People think "fiddling with X isn't a distraction".