In-class multitasking and academic performance Reynol Junco ⇑ Department of Academic Development and Counseling, Lock Haven University, 104 Russell Hall, Lock Haven, PA 17745, United States article info Article history: Available online xxxx Keywords: Multitasking Classroom ICT use Learning Facebook Texting abstract The omnipresence of student-owned information and communication technologies (ICTs) in today’s col- lege classrooms presents educational opportunities but can also create learning problems. Specifically, multitasking with these technologies can interfere with the learning process. Indeed, research in cogni- tive science shows that there are clear performance decrements when trying to attend to two tasks at the same time. This study examines the frequency with which students multitask during class using a large sample (N = 1,839) and examines the relationship between multitasking and academic performance as measured by actual overall semester grade point average (GPA). Students reported frequently text mes- saging during class but reported multitasking with other ICTs to a lesser extent. Furthermore, only social technologies (Facebook and text messaging) were negatively related to GPA. Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Research on multitasking has uncovered clear evidence that human information processing is insufficient for attending to mul- tiple stimuli and for performing simultaneous tasks (Chun, Golomb, & Turk-Browne, 2011; Koch, Lawo, Fels, & Vorländer, 2011; Marois & Ivanoff, 2005; Rosen, Lim, Carrier, & Cheever, 2011; Tombu et al., 2011; Wood & Cowan, 1995; Wood et al., 2012). Almost all of the research on multitasking is conducted in the cognitive sciences and focuses on simple tasks such as attending to a stream of words presented to one ear while a distractor stream is presented to the other. However, there is evidence that these performance decre- ments extend to more complex tasks. Because of shifts in student technology ownership and use, researchers have begun to examine how college students multitask and how this affects their ability to learn material and engage in the learning process (Fried, 2008; Jun- co & Cotten, 2011, 2012; Mayer & Moreno, 2003; Rosen et al., 2011; Wood et al., 2012). 1.1. College student technology use and the potential for multitasking In the United States, most college students are part of what many have described as a digital generation that has never known a time when information and communication technologies (ICTs) weren’t a part of daily life (Cotten, McCullough, & Adams, 2011). Most of today’s students adopt and use new technologies at high rates, and therefore have many opportunities to multitask. For example, a recent EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR) study (N = 36,950 students and 127 North American universities) shows that over 73% of college students text message daily, 99% own a computer (with 84% owning laptops), and 90% use social networking websites (Smith & Caruso, 2010). Furthermore, any- where between 87% and 92% of undergraduates use Facebook and spend an average of over 1 h and 40 min on the site per day (Junco, 2012; Smith & Caruso, 2010). Cell phones are also very popular with college students. In the United States, a higher proportion of undergraduate college stu- dents own cell phones compared to same-aged non-students (Smith, Rainie, & Zickuhr, 2011). The latest Pew report focusing on college students found that 96% of all undergraduates owned cell phones (Smith et al., 2011). Junco and Cotten (2012) reported that college students sent an average of 97 text messages per day, with 71 of those messages being sent while doing homework. A small-scale study by Burns and Lohenry (2010) found that 53% of students reported text messaging during class. Despite the high adoption rate of ICTs among college students, it is important to remember that digital inequalities still persist. Technological ownership, adoption and use within the overall pop- ulation and within the population of college students vary accord- ing to gender, race, and socioeconomic status (Cooper & Weaver, 2003; DiMaggio, Hargittai, Celeste, & Shafer, 2004; Hargittai, 2008a; Junco, Merson, & Salter, 2010; Kaiser Family Foundation, 2004; Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010). For instance, Junco et al. (2010) found that female and white college students were over twice as likely to own a cell phone as male and African American students and that African American students were more likely to send text messages than whites. Hargittai (2008b) found that Lati- no students were less likely to use Facebook than Caucasians, and that students whose parents had a college degree were more likely to use Facebook than students whose parents did not have a col- lege degree. 0747-5632/$ - see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.06.031 ⇑ Tel.: +1 814 441 0339. E-mail address: rey.junco@gmail.com Computers in Human Behavior xxx (2012) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Computers in Human Behavior journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh Please cite this article in press as: Junco, R. In-class multitasking and academic performance. Computers in Human Behavior (2012), http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1016/j.chb.2012.06.031