Journal articles on the topic 'Multitasking information behaviour'

Media multitasking, defined as audience behaviour when a person is using two or more media sources simultaneously, is a new phenomenon. Now, only 19% of young people are not multitasking. The way information from multiple media streams is processed is different from the normal information processing means. User’s attention is divided between tasks which makes processing of information shallow. The extent of users exposure to each media source creates problems for media research and advertisers as assessing of the exposure level of is very complicated. However, there has been very little research conducted to give a better understanding users’ interaction with each media source. Further research will identify the benefits of multitasking and allow advertisers to target users effectively.

The aim of this investigation was to explore student behaviour when students brought their own digital devices into a lecture theatre. A total of 361 undergraduate psychology students from the University of Liverpool who used at least one digital device during lecture time fully completed an online questionnaire (159 first-, 124 second- and 78 third-year psychology students) during the 2018–2019 academic year. Although all the three years of undergraduate students brought laptops and/or smartphones into a lecture theatre, there was no significant difference in academic performance over the years of studies. The findings have linked student multitasking processes in a lecture theatre to Social Cognitive Theory principles (reciprocal interactions between behaviours, learning environment, and individuals). There was a significant difference between the three years regarding the use of applications and student characteristics after controlling for the different types of devices. Students who used only one application during lecture time were more likely to achieve higher academic performance as they were less distracted from their primary tasks of processing and retaining information. Overall, this investigation concluded the importance of reconsidering the teaching delivery process so as to avoid students’ escapism using devices during lecture theatres due to their engagement level and lecture norm pressures.

Objective – To identify patterns of patron behaviour in the library in order to improve space utilization. Design – Ethnographic data-gathering, including observations and a qualitative survey. Setting – Music library of a large public university. Subjects – Library patrons, primarily music students but also music faculty, other students and faculty, and regional music professionals and amateurs. Methods – In the exploratory phase, complete (i.e., incognito) participant observers recorded patron characteristics and behaviours in four zones of the library (the technology lab, the stacks, the reference area, and study carrels). They conducted a series of five-minute-long visual sweeps of these zones at five-minute intervals. Observers were not given any checklist, but were told to record anything they saw regarding the personal characteristics, behaviours, and activities of patrons. The data collected resulted in what the investigators called “flip books” (a series of images recorded in close succession, which, when flipped, could give the illusion of movement). The data was analyzed using the grounded theory approach, a qualitative method to identify recurring themes on space use. A statistical analysis based on these themes was then conducted. In the second, explanatory phase, observers conducted new “sweeps,” or observations of the same library zones, this time using checklists to indicate the occurrence of specific activities identified in the first phase (solo vs. group activity, social interaction vs. study discussion, and use of technology). In addition, observers recorded patron entry and exit on “time cards,” and had all exiting patrons answer five brief questions about the types and volume of activities they had conducted in the various zones of the library. Main Results – The vast majority of the patrons were students. Most (at least three-quarters) engaged in solitary activity, and a large majority used electronic technology. According to data from the flip books, 44% engaged in multitasking, which was therefore significant but not preferred. It was more likely to occur when electronic technology was involved. Patrons were most likely to be present in the library for less than 5 minutes or more than 20 minutes. Patrons who stayed in the library for only a short time were more likely to engage in leisure activities than those who stayed longer, but leisure activities overall were as prevalent as study time. The technology lab and the reference area were the most popular zones. Users stayed in the technology lab and stacks for short times only, whereas the reference area and carrels were favored for long visits. Users engaged in multitasking mostly in the carrels and reference area. Conclusion – The patrons’ preference for solitary study is at odds with academic libraries’ current interest in collaborative learning spaces, but can be explained by the specific nature of music studies (artistic creation is a solitary activity), and is in line with previous ethnographic studies of public libraries. Music students presumably use the technology labs for short visits between classes. They favor the study carrels for longer stays where they can multitask, using their own laptops and iPods. These findings can be used to help redesign the library. Design recommendations include placing the technology lab by the entrance to enable quick coming and going, increasing the number of carrels, placing them in quiet parts of the library, and equipping them with electrical outlets.

Presently, people are increasingly becoming screen jugglers and frequently involving multitasking through multiple screens. The current study is focused on explaining multi-screen multitasking behavior of the younger generation in China. People like to self-regulate their routine behaviors to be productive and organized. Recent research in social psychology suggests that self-regulation occurs both deliberately and intuitively. This dual system approach of self-regulation promotes the idea that both reflective and impulsive forces are involved in determining human behavior. Owing to this conception, the present research opted for a dual system approach of self-regulation as the theoretical basis. Empirical data has been collected from university students in China and a total of 345 responses have been used for the analysis which has been performed through structural equation modeling in SmartPLS 3.0. The results indicate that the factors of both deliberative and automatic self-regulation are effective in determining multi-screen multitasking behavior.

PurposeSmartphone multitasking behavior has become prevalent in our daily lives, yet factors influencing smartphone multitasking behavior have not been fully investigated. This study aimed to examine the roles of a set of demographic, personality and motivational factors on smartphone multitasking behavior, and how these factors were related to general and application-specific types of smartphone multitasking behavior.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional study was conducted in which 2,659 smartphone users were invited to complete an online survey on smartphone multitasking behavior. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to examine the roles of demographic, personality and motivational factors on smartphone multitasking behavior.FindingsThe results showed that, in general, demographic factors, such as gender, age, occupation status, education and smartphone usage time significantly predicted smartphone multitasking behavior. People characterized by agreeableness, extraversion, neuroticism and openness to experience were more likely to multitask with smartphones. Information seeking, efficiency and habit motivations were identified as major motivational factors for smartphone multitasking behavior. The roles of demographic, personality and motivational factors differed much across varied types of application-specific smartphone multitasking behavior.Originality/valueThis study extends and advances the literature on media multitasking, smartphone multitasking in particular, by identifying a set of demographic, personality and motivational factors as antecedents of smartphone multitasking behavior. In addition, this study revealed the differentiated roles of the above-mentioned factors across varied types of smartphone application usages. The findings provide important implications for practitioners to tailor smartphone applications and services to different target smartphone users and use situations.

Aim/Purpose: This paper investigates the influence of university student multitasking on their learning success, defined as students’ learning satisfaction and performance. Background: Most research on student multitasking finds student multitasking problematic. However, this research is generally from 2010. Yet, today’s students are known to be digital natives and they have a different, more positive, relationship with mobile technologies. Based on the old findings, most instructors ban mobile technology use during instruction, and design their online courses without regard for the mobile technology use that happens regardless of their ban. This study investigates whether today’s instructors and learning management system interface designers should take into account multitasking with mobile technologies. Methodology: A quasi-experimental design was used in this study. Data were collected from 117 students across two sections of an introductory Management Information Systems class taught by the first author. We took multiple approaches and steps to control for confounding factors and to increase the internal validity of the study. We used a control group as a comparison group, we used a pre-test, we controlled for selection bias, and we tested for demographic differences between groups. Contribution: With this paper, we explicated the relationship between multitasking and learning success. We defined learning success as learning performance and learning satisfaction. Contrary to the literature, we found that multitasking involving IT texting does not decrease students’ learning performance. An explanation of this change is the change in the student population, and the digital nativeness between 2010s and 2020 and beyond. Findings: Our study showed that multitasking involving IT texting does not decrease students’ performance in class compared to not multitasking. Secondly, our study showed that, overall, multitasking reduced the students’ learning satisfaction despite the literature suggesting otherwise. We found that attitude towards multitasking moderated the relationship between multitasking and learning satisfaction as follows. Individuals who had a positive attitude towards multitasking had high learning satisfaction with multitasking. However, individuals who had positive attitude toward multitasking did not necessarily have higher learning performance. Recommendations for Practitioners: We would recommend both instructors and the designers of learning management systems to take mobile multitasking into consideration while designing courses and course interfaces, rather than banning multitasking, and assuming that the students do not do it. Furthermore, we recommend including multitasking into relevant courses such as Management Information Systems courses to make students aware of their own multitasking behavior and their results. Recommendation for Researchers: We recommend that future studies investigate multitasking with different instruction methods, especially studies that make students aware of their multitasking behavior and its outcomes will be useful for next generations. Impact on Society: This paper investigates the role of mobile multitasking on learning performance. Since mobile technologies are ubiquitous and their use in multitasking is common, their use in multitasking affects societal performance. Future Research: Studies that replicate our research with larger and more diverse samples are needed. Future research could explore research-based experiential teaching methods, similar to this study.

Negotiating the information-rich sensory world often requires the concurrent management of multiple tasks. Despite this requirement, humans are thought to be poor at multitasking because of the processing limitations of frontoparietal and subcortical (FP-SC) brain regions. Although training is known to improve multitasking performance, it is unknown how the FP-SC system functionally changes to support improved multitasking. To address this question, we characterized the FP-SC changes that predict training outcomes using an individual differences approach. Participants (n = 100) performed single and multiple tasks in pre- and posttraining magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sessions interspersed by either a multitasking or an active-control training regimen. Multivoxel pattern analyses (MVPA) revealed that training induced multitasking improvements were predicted by divergence in the FP-SC blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response patterns to the trained tasks. Importantly, this finding was only observed for participants who completed training on the component (single) tasks and their combination (multitask) and not for the control group. Therefore, the FP-SC system supports multitasking behavior by segregating constituent task representations.

Travel-based multitasking and the possibility to perform activities during travel are important factors that can make a transportation mode attractive. However, serious crowding in public transportation systems might adversely affect the passengers’ free choice to participate in activities during travel. This study aims to examine how crowding in public transportation systems is related to discrete-continuous choices in different types of multitasking options using a data set of 500 commuters in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. Employing a multiple discrete-continuous extreme value model, this study investigates the relationship between crowding levels and multitasking behavior. The results show that high crowding levels, relative to being seated, have a significantly negative association with many multitasking options, which suggests the importance of seat availability. The estimation results also show that information and communication technology (ICT)-dependent leisure activities and non-ICT active activities, such as reading and talking with other passengers, have the lowest satiation and higher baseline preference constants, which indicates that they are preferred by passengers. Meanwhile, crowding levels were observed to have a significant relationship with these multitasking activities. Finally, the key findings, contributions, and policy implications of the findings are discussed.

Abstract Objective On behavior rating scales completed by family members, executive functioning is often operationalized in terms of subdomain abilities (e.g., problem-solving, multitasking, and organizing). It is unclear, however, how well collateral assessments of these abilities reflect patients’ actual executive functioning. The current study investigated the relationship between family members’ reported perceptions of change in patients’ problem-solving, multitasking, and organizing abilities and objective neuropsychological test findings. Method Patients undergoing dementia evaluations (n = 56, mean age = 71.4, mean education = 13.0 years) minimally completed subtests from the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS; Trail Making, Verbal Fluency, Color-Word, Tower) and the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). Information from family members was obtained via a questionnaire asking about degrees of change (no change, mild change, moderate change, or severe change) in problem-solving, multitasking, and organizing. Spearman correlations were calculated between family members’ perceptions of change and cognitive dysfunction, as measured by D-KEFS (subtests and combined averaged scaled score) and RBANS index scores. Results Perceived changes in problem-solving, multitasking, and organizing did not significantly correlate at p < .05 with either D-KEFS subtest scores or the combined scaled score. Perceived changes significantly correlated with RBANS Immediate Memory (problem-solving: rs = −.338, p = .014; multitasking: rs = −.323, p = .017; organizing: rs = −.293, p = .028) and Language (problem-solving: rs = −.306, p = .027) indices. Conclusions Family members’ perceptions of change in problem-solving, multitasking, and organizing did not correspond with objective executive dysfunction observed on neuropsychological testing. Future research should attempt to cross-validate these findings. If cross-validated, results would suggest limited utility in using these terms to operationalize executive functioning on behavior rating scales.

Глобальный переход к виртуальной экономике и интенсивно развивающиеся цифровые технологии оказывают активное влияние на становление личности представителей поколе- ния Z (сетевого, iGen, next поколения). В условиях пандемии произошли серьезные трансфор- мации в образовании, что не могло не усилить воздействия цифровых технологий на сознание и поведение молодежи. В статье рассматриваются основные сферы личности современного молодого человека — коммуникативная, познавательная, эмоционально-волевая, мотивационно-потребностная, ценностно-смысловая, — формирующие стиль жизни, несвойственный предшествовавшей индустриальной цивилизации. Молодежь, в отличие от старших поколений, обладает гибкостью мышления и мобильностью, умеет работать в условиях многозадачности и медиамногозадачности, быстро воспринимает информацию, мгновенно переключается с одного дела на другое. Вместе с тем выявленные личностные и поведенческие особенности современного поколения показали, что его представители отчуждены от реального социума, имеют трудности с общением, испытывают субъективную зависимость от «цифры», что приводит к недостатку когнитивного контроля, инфантилизму, отсутствию глубоких межличностных отношений. Цель статьи: рассмотрение личностных особенностей цифрового поколения. Задачи: выявление его поведенческих реакций, оценка последствий влияния информационных технологий на подрастающее поколение, выработка предложений по решению проблем, возникающих в сфере коммуникаций и профессионального становления. Исследование осуществлялось посредством качественно-феноменологического метода, дополненного теоретико-методологическим анализом научной литературы, синтезом, конкретизацией, сравнением и обобщением. В результате были выработаны новые идеи и подходы, которые помогают молодежи развиваться в современной среде. Знание специфики цифровой социализации личности, особенностей представителей поколения Z позволяет соразмерно использовать полученные знания в образовательном процессе, содействовать в профессиональном самоопределении студентов. The global transition to the digital economy and digital society, intensively developing digital technologies, has an active influence on forming the digital generation’s personality (generation Z, network generation, iGen generation, next-generation). In the context of the pandemic, severe education transformations have taken place. It could not but affect the even more significant impact of digital technologies on the consciousness and behaviour of the modern generation. The article presents its features in the unity of the main spheres of personality — communicative, cognitive, emotional-volitional, motivational-need, value-semantic, influencing the lifestyle that is not peculiar to the preceding industrial civilization. Modern teenagers and young people have specific resources: mobility, multitasking, the flexibility of thinking, high speed of information perception, intellectual potential, activity, etc. At the same time, the identified personal and behavioural characteristics of the modern generation have shown that its representatives are in a state of estrangement from the real society, have difficulties in communication, experience emotional dependence on “numbers”, which leads to a lack of cognitive control, infantilism in real life, lack of deep interpersonal relationships. Purpose of the article: Considering the features of the digital generation in the unity of the main spheres of personality. Tasks: identification of personal and behavioural features of the digital generation; assessment of the consequences of the impact of information technology on the younger generation; development of suggestions for solving problems of communications and professional formation. The study of the phenomenological features of the representatives of the digital generation was carried out using a qualitative and phenomenological method, supplemented by a theoretical and methodological analysis of scientific literature, synthesis, concretization, comparison and generalization. New ideas and methods that affect the development of young people, taking into account the environment in which they are formed, based on the accumulation and analysis of information, have been developed. Knowledge of the specifics of digital socialization of an individual, the characteristics of representatives of generation Z will allow finding new landmarks in development, proportionately using them for educational purposes, and promoting professional self-determination.

The study of human consciousness has demonstrated that there are both conscious and unconscious systems. Other work, particularly in animals, has shown that there are habit and nonhabit systems and that these involve different brain regions and memory processes. Here we argue that habits can be equated with unconscious behavior and nonhabits with conscious behavior. This equation makes the extensive physiological literature on habit/nonhabit relevant to the less tractable issue of consciousness. On the basis of this line of reasoning, it appears that different parts of the BG and different memory structures mediate conscious and unconscious processes. It is further argued here that the unconscious system is highly capable; it can both process sensory information and produce behavior. The benefit of such a dual system is multitasking: The unconscious system can execute background tasks, leaving the conscious system to perform more difficult tasks.

Profession has a code of ethics in the form of a behavior regulation tool for the caretaker of the profession. This regulation guarantees that services will be carried out professionally. School counselors face an exciting challenge of serving the millennial generation. This generation is a technology reliant, image driven, multitasking, open to change, confident, team oriented, rich of information, impatient and adaptable. Guidance and counseling services need to adapt the virtual concept, in this case digital services through social media for maximum service and reference.

A Review of: Bowman, L. L., Levine, L. E., Waite, B. M., & Gendron, M. (2010). Can students really multitask? An experimental study of instant messaging while reading. Computers & Education, 54, 927-931. Objective – To examine the effects of multitasking while doing school work. The experiment specifically measured total time spent reading a simulated textbook passage and tested comprehension in students who received instant messages before reading, while reading, or not at all. Design – Experimental design in which one group of students read an online text while receiving and responding to instant messages. Comparison groups either received instant messages (IMs) prior to reading the text passage or did not receive any IMs during the task. Setting – General psychology department at Central Connecticut State University, United States. Subjects – Eighty-nine college students enrolled in general psychology courses. The participants included 43 women and 46 men and were between 17 and 46 years old. Most students were full time students (91%), most were European / White (74%) and in their first (46%) or second (33%) year of college. Participants’ academic majors represented all the schools in the university. Methods – Researchers created a simulated environment in which a passage from a psychology textbook was displayed on five consecutive screens. For the experimental group, an IM appeared on each of the five screens preceded by an alert sound. Messages were written to reflect the types of questions students might ask each other when they first meet, such as “What do you like to do in your spare time?” Subjects were randomized to three situations: receiving IMs before reading, receiving IMs during reading, or not receiving any IMs. Subjects were told that they would either receive IMs before reading, while reading, or not at all. Messages received during reading appeared one per screen after a specified time spent on each page (after 17, 15, 29, 20 and 26 seconds, respectively.) Students could take as long as necessary to read the passage and to respond to IMs. After reading the passage, students were given a multiple choice test with 25 questions to determine reading comprehension and retention. Students also completed a demographic questionnaire to measure their typical instant messaging behaviour, including the amount of time they spend each week instant messaging, how often IM software is on when their computer is on, and how often IM software is on when they are studying. Both of these activities took place on the same computers used for the reading experiment. Students were additionally asked to comment on the clarity of instructions, the representativeness of the task to their typical IM experiences, and the interest and similarity to normal coursework of the reading itself. These questions were asked on paper rather than on the computer. Software recorded the lengths of time each student spent in reading the passage, reading and responding to IMs, and answering the online questions. For those students who received IMs during reading, the time spent from receipt of each IM to each response was subtracted from the total reading time. Main Results – There were no differences in test performance between the three groups. Statistically significant differences were found in the amount of time that students took to complete the reading: students who instant messaged during reading took significantly longer to read the online text than those students who instant messaged before reading and those who did not IM, even when time spent receiving and responding to IMs was subtracted from the totals. Students who instant messaged before reading took the least amount of time in the exercise. Further statistical analysis revealed no significant differences in the time spent instant messaging between the two IM groups. Responses to the demographic questions indicate that students spend a mean 7.5 hours instant messaging per week, that 67% of students have IM software on “sometimes,” “often,” or “very often” while the computer is on and 62% of the time while studying. Analysis indicated that none of the IM use variables were correlated with test performance or reading time and that there were no significant differences between the experimental groups according to prior IM use. Responses from the 77 students who answered the questions about the experiment itself are also included, though not all of these students answered each question. Seventy students (99%) agreed or strongly agreed that instructions were clear. Seventy-one percent of the 52 students that received IMs agreed or strongly agreed that they were realistic, and 75% agreed or strongly agreed that they responded to IMs in a typical manner. Sixty-two students (82%) agreed or strongly agreed that the text was similar to those assigned for actual coursework, and 39 students (51%) agreed or strongly agreed that the passage was interesting. Students commented on the authenticity of the experiment in free text responses such as, “I responded how I would have to anyone,” and “they were questions that anyone I don’t know might ask.” Conclusion – This experimental study suggests that students who IM while reading will perform as well but take longer to complete the task than those who do not IM while reading or those students who IM before reading.

An extended version of the Rasmussen’s Dynamic Safety Model was implemented to empirically index team activity during a medical emergency. The video recordings of two emergency training sessions during the simulation of an adverse event with two paramedical teams were analyzed with a coding scheme based on the model. We show that individual’s allocation of perceptions and actions to multiple work constraints (i.e., patient’s state monitoring, information processing with team, and equipment management) can be dynamically tracked.

AbstractMillennials, the demographic cohort born in the last two decades of the twentieth century, are reported to adopt information and communication technologies (ICTs) in their everyday lives, including travel, to a greater extent than older generations. As ICT-driven travel-based multitasking influences travelers’ experience and satisfaction in various ways, millennials are expected to be affected at a greater scale. Still, to our knowledge, no previous studies have specifically focused on the impact of travel multitasking on travel behavior and the value of travel time (VOTT) of young adults. To address this gap, we use an original dataset collected among Northern California commuters (N = 2216) to analyze the magnitude and significance of individual and household-level factors affecting commute mode choice. We estimate a revealed-preference mode choice model and investigate the differences between millennials and older adults in the sample. Additionally, we conduct a sensitivity analysis to explore how incorporation of explanatory factors such as attitudes and propensity to multitask while traveling in mode choice models affects coefficient estimates, VOTT, and willingness to pay to use a laptop on the commute. Compared to non-millennials, the mode choice of millennials is found to be less affected by socio-economic characteristics and more strongly influenced by the activities performed while traveling. Young adults are found to have lower VOTT than older adults for both in-vehicle (15.0% less) and out-of-vehicle travel time (15.7% less), and higher willingness to pay (in time or money) to use a laptop, even after controlling for demographic traits, personal attitudes, and the propensity to multitask. This study contributes to better understanding the commuting behavior of millennials, and the factors affecting it, a topic of interest to transportation researchers, planners, and practitioners.

The need to engage in multiple tasks simultaneously is often encountered in everyday experience, but coordinating between two or more tasks can lead to impaired performance. Typical investigations of multitasking impairments have focused on the performance of two tasks presented in close temporal proximity on discrete trials; however, such paradigms do not match well with the continuous performance situations more typically encountered outside the laboratory. As a result, the stages of information processing that are affected during multisensory continuous dual tasks and how these changes in processing relate to behavior remain unclear. To address these issues, participants were presented simultaneous rapid visual and auditory stimulus sequences under three conditions: attend visual only, attend auditory only, and dual attention (attend both visual and auditory). Performance, measured in terms of response time and perceptual sensitivity (d′), revealed dual-task impairments only in the auditory task. Neural activity, measured by the ERP technique, revealed that both early stage sensory processing and later cognitive processing of the auditory task were affected by dual-task performance, but similar stages of processing of the visual task were not. Critically, individual differences in neural activity at both early and late stages of information processing accurately rank-ordered individuals based on the observed difference in behavioral performance between the single and dual attention conditions. These results reveal relationships between behavioral performance and the neural correlates of both early and late stage information processing that provide key insights into the complex interplay between the brain and behavior when multiple tasks are performed continuously.

<p><em>The objective of this research is to identify whether the organizational culture becomes the correct foundation to increase organizational citizenship behavior with work satisfaction and competency. This research is expected to become a reference for the next research about the impact of organizational culture on organizational citizenship behavior based on work satisfaction and competency. On top of that, this research is expected to provide valuable information so it can become a base study or consideration for a company, especially in the media industry to effectively manage its human resources. Media industry have a unique character because they give freedom to their employee to make them get used to multitasking. Therefore, it needed support from an external factor which is to create a good organizational culture that will create work satisfaction and develop competencies as well as improve OCB behavior among employees. This research is conducted by using questioners with 245 respondents that work in online media from December to January 2020. The data has been analyzed by using Structural Equation Model (SEM). The result of this research shows that there is a relationship between organizational culture the work satisfaction among the employee of the online media industry. Furthermore, there is a relationship between organizational culture towards employee competency in the online media industry and it also shows a relation between work satisfaction towards organizational citizenship behavior in online media industry employees. Lastly, the result also shows a relation between competency towards organization citizenship behavior in online media industry employees. On the other hand, work satisfaction and competency also mediate the relation between organizational culture and organizational citizenship behavior.</em></p>

Despite the advantages of using instant messaging (IM) for collaborative work, concerns about negative consequences associated with its disruptive nature have been raised. In this paper, the author investigates the mediating role of self-regulation, using a mixed methods approach consisting of questionnaires, focus groups, and interviews. The findings show that these concerns are warranted: IM is disruptive, and multitasking can lead to losses in productivity. Despite these negative consequences, users are active participants in IM and employ a wide range of self-regulation strategies (SRS) to control their overuse. The study found three key SRS: ignoring incoming messages, denying access, and digital or physical removal. The study also found two different approaches to self-regulation. The preventive approach, consisting of creating routines and practices around IM use that would help regulation, and the recuperative approach, consisting of changing behaviors after overuse had occurred. Communication via IM helps in the development of social capital by strengthening social ties among users, which can be useful for information exchange and cooperation. These positive effects provide a balance to the potential negative impact on productivity. Implications for theories of self-regulation of technology and for managerial practice are also discussed.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the characteristics of the cohort Generation Z and identify strategies for maximizing their talent. The study emphasizes that it is critical for the organization to revisit their strategies so as to accommodate this cohort group. With Generation Z entering the workforce, the nature of entry-level jobs is changing; hence, HR needs to redesign their strategies to attract and engage Generation Z.Design/methodology/approachThe research design adopted for the study is exploratory in nature. The research analysis is based on the information/data collected from the journal articles, newspapers and various conferences and majorly from in-person discussions with the Generation Z cohort group.FindingsGeneration Z believes in multitasking and likes to learn everything on their own, underscoring their individuality. They believe in doing more in less time, and thus, efficiency and effectiveness are attributed to be part of their DNA.Research limitations/implicationsIt has to be accepted that very little is known about Generation Z as they have just started to enter the workforce. The next two years will have this cohort joining organizations in entry-level jobs. Organizations have to carefully watch and redesign their strategies to effectively engage this group, as they have no choice except to accept the new generation.Practical implicationsThe literature on Generation Z is scanty, as much of the scholarly research is done in isolation. However, prior studies indicate that Generation Z is tech-savvy and wants everything connected. Organizations will be forced to accept technology as the preferred medium of communication when Generation Z enters the organization.Originality/valueThe study presents an alternative for managing the Generation Z, thereby maximizing their talent in the workplace.

This study aimed to examine cognitive factors associated to food addiction (FA) symptoms in a non-clinical sample of adolescents. A group of 25 adolescents (12–18 years; Mean age = 15.2 years) with a high level of FA symptoms (two and more) were compared to a control group without FA symptoms (n = 25), matched on sex and age, on four Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) neuropsychological tasks (MT: Multitasking Test; OTS: One Touch Stockings of Cambridge; SST: Stop Signal Task; RVP: Rapid Visual Information Processing). They were also compared on self-reported questionnaires assessing binge eating, depressive and anxiety symptoms, impulsivity levels, as well as executive functioning difficulties. Group comparisons did not show significant differences on neuropsychological tasks’ performances. However, effect sizes’ estimates showed small to medium effect sizes on three scores: adolescents with a high level of FA symptoms showed a higher probability of an error following an incorrect answer (OTS), a higher probability of false alarm, and a poorer target sensitivity (RVP). When referring to self-reported measurements, they reported significantly more executive functioning difficulties, more binge eating, depressive symptoms and higher impulsivity levels. Overall, results suggested that cognitive difficulties related to FA symptoms seem to manifest themselves more clearly when assessing daily activities with a self-reported questionnaire, which in turn are strongly related to overeating behaviors and psychological symptoms. Future longitudinal research is needed to examine the evolution of those variables, their relationships, and contribution in obesity onset. More precisely, the present findings highlighted the importance of affective difficulties related to this condition, as well as the need to take them into account in its assessment.

Background Adoption and evaluation of contact tracing tools based on information and communications technology may expand the reach and efficacy of traditional contact tracing methods in fighting COVID-19. The Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports initiated and developed CoronaMelder, a COVID-19 contact tracing app. This app is based on a Google/Apple Exposure Notification approach and aims to combat the spread of the coronavirus among individuals by notifying those who are at increased risk of infection due to proximity to someone who later tests positive for COVID-19. The app should support traditional contact tracing by faster tracing and greater reach compared to regular contact tracing procedures. Objective The main goal of this study is to investigate whether the CoronaMelder is able to support traditional contact tracing employed by public health authorities. To achieve this, usability tests were conducted to answer the following question: is the CoronaMelder user-friendly, understandable, reliable and credible, and inclusive? Methods Participants (N=44) of different backgrounds were recruited: youth with varying educational levels, youth with an intellectual disability, migrants, adults (aged 40-64 years), and older adults (aged >65 years) via convenience sampling in the region of Twente in the Netherlands. The app was evaluated with scenario-based, think-aloud usability tests and additional interviews. Findings were recorded via voice recordings, observation notes, and the Dutch User Experience Questionnaire, and some participants wore eye trackers to measure gaze behavior. Results Our results showed that the app is easy to use, although problems occurred with understandability and accessibility. Older adults and youth with a lower education level did not understand why or under what circumstances they would receive notifications, why they must share their key (ie, their assigned identifier), and what happens after sharing. In particular, youth in the lower-education category did not trust or understand Bluetooth signals, or comprehend timing and follow-up activities after a risk exposure notification. Older adults had difficulties multitasking (speaking with a public health worker and simultaneously sharing the key in the app). Public health authorities appeared to be unprepared to receive support from the app during traditional contact tracing because their telephone conversation protocol lacks guidance, explanation, and empathy. Conclusions The study indicated that the CoronaMelder app is easy to use, but participants experienced misunderstandings about its functioning. The perceived lack of clarity led to misconceptions about the app, mostly regarding its usefulness and privacy-preserving mechanisms. Tailored and targeted communication through, for example, public campaigns or social media, is necessary to provide correct information about the app to residents in the Netherlands. Additionally, the app should be presented as part of the national coronavirus measures instead of as a stand-alone app offered to the public. Public health workers should be trained to effectively and empathetically instruct users on how to use the CoronaMelder app.

The article narratives about the necessity of religious education of a person with the help of the socializing environment of cyberspace, about religious education in the context of cybersocialization as a multidimensional process of development of spirituality that regulates human behavior in cyberspace in accordance with the moral-ethical bases of life that it has internalized, and the religious principles of a certain denomination. The role of religious resources of the World Wide Web in religious activities is substantiated. It is necessary to accept the cyberspace of Internet environment as a relatively independent virtual reality that dynamically develops in modern reality, in which it organizes its own cyber-life and cyber-socialization. Modern electronic technologies greatly transform the process of religious socialization, resulting in traditional agents leaving into the background, because Internet has now become a full-fledged institution of religious socialization of man. Now many tasks of religious development of man are carried out not only in traditional methods, but also in the context of the virtual space by attracting people to innovative technologies. Cyberspace contributes to the transformation of forms of expression of human religiosity. Today many tasks of religious development of a person are carried out not only by traditional methods, but also in the context of virtual space by bringing people into innovative technologies. The development of technology also affects world and new religions: in the XXI century WWW became a new means of spreading of the religious culture for them among its users. One of the trends of modern mass culture is the orientation of society into digital entertainment and communication in various social networks - this fact allows contemporary researchers to view the Global Web as a new social institution. It can be argued that the development of an innovative branch of psycho-pedagogical thought - cyber-pedagogy, which scientifically substantiates the purposeful and systematic activity of cyber-education of a modern person in the process of its cyber-socialization by means of computer and information-communication technologies that allows modern homo sapiens, who became homo cyberus, to learn to use socializing and educational opportunities of computer and Internet resources. The questions of necessity, multitasking and opportunities of religious education of a person in the context of cybersocialization are revealed. Religious education in the context of cybersocialization has a cyber-onthological character and is closely linked with the assimilated and positioned ideas by the personality in cyberspace about the value of human life, honor and dignity, spiritual wisdom, and the search for meaning in life. As rather serious, researchers evaluate the risks of network bullying - regular, prolonged and group harassment of the victim - for example, when against a pupil create a site or group in a social network, arrange offensive voting, steal information from his personal page and lay it in an obscene manner, ridicule publicly. The biggest problem in the fight against cybersquatting is the lack of legal skills for cyberbullying and the lack of clarity of legal consequences for an aggressor. It is advisable to develop an international mechanism for combating cybersquatting, including Interpol intervention, for creating a rehabilitation system for victims of cybersquatting based on advisory centers in the different regions of the country, and for developing legislative mechanisms that would clearly categorize and quickly remove aggressive content.

The rapid advancement of mobile computing devices and the ever-growing range of infotainment services they enable have cultivated high levels of media multitasking. Studies have considered the effects of this form of behaviour for cognitive control ability, with findings suggesting that chronic media multitasking is associated with reduced inhibitory control. In this study we advance knowledge in this domain by investigating differences in the attention distribution strategies of high and low media multitaskers (HMMs and LMMs) through a simple, two-dimensional game. 1 063 university students completed a web-based survey concerning their media multitasking behaviour and played the 2D game. Contributing to the ecological validity of the study the game was played within the respondent’s web-browser, as part of the survey, at a time and place (and on a computer) of their choosing. During gameplay one of two different banners, both irrelevant to the game, were displayed adjacent to the game. No instructions were provided in relation to the banners. Our analysis considered respondents’ performance in the game in relation to both their media multitasking and the content of the banner displayed. Our findings suggest that while HMMs attend to distracting stimuli independent of their content or salience, LMMs are more selective. This selectivity enables improved primary task performance when distracting stimuli are deemed unimportant. Additionally, we found that LMMs generally recalled banner information more accurately after the game was played.

Abstract Background and Objectives The study’s objective was to explore older adults’ (aged 65 or older) descriptions of behavior related to multitasking with traditional and newer media/information and communication technologies (ICTs) and perceived benefits of such behavior, along with older adults’ preference for research methods used to study their multitasking behaviors. Employing common media-use measures that heavily rely on self-reporting in populations of older adults is challenging, especially given that patterns of media/ICT use are becoming increasingly complex. Cumulatively, people spend more time using media than they are aware of because of the tendency to use some forms of media simultaneously. As cognitive ability deteriorates with age, self-reported recollection of complex patterns of media/ICT use, such as multitasking, among older adults increases the threat to data accuracy. Research Design and Methods: Twenty-eight community-dwelling older adults in a Midwestern U.S. state participated in in-depth interviews (average length was 40 minutes) to discuss their use of traditional and newer media/technologies in combination with other activities and outline methods researchers should use to study such behaviors. Results Participants reported they engaged in multitasking behaviors similar to those of younger generations, with the difference in the higher extent of using traditional media and ICTs. They talked about multitasking with radio and television for “background noise” as being a rewarding experience. They perceived the effects of multitasking to be detrimental to attention and performance and attributed this media-use habit to individual psychological and demographic differences. They preferred ethnographic observation and keeping a paper-and-pencil diary as research methods to study multitasking among their peers. Data-logging methods were less popular because they raised privacy concerns among interviewees. Discussion and Implications Different types of traditional and newer media and technologies could be used differently in situations that require older adults to focus, relax, or be efficient. The findings suggest that future researchers strive for a compromise between data access and data accuracy when they select a research method to study media use among older adults.

Purpose This paper aims to explore university students' multitasking behavior in online classrooms and their influence on academic performance. Also, the study examined students' opinions. Design/methodology/approach A total of 302 university students fulfilled an online survey. Ten questions were focused on demographic information, five items evaluated online class behavior of students, 9 items evaluated self-efficacy and four items measured academic performance. Findings Multitasking behavior was found to negatively influence self-efficacy of −0.332, whereas self-efficacy showed a positive influence of 0.325 on academic performance. Cronbach's alpha and average variance extracted values were 0.780 and 0.527 (multitasking behavior), 0.875 and 0.503 (self-efficacy), 0.781 and 0.601 (academic performance). Outcomes of the bootstrapping test showed that the path coefficients are significant. Originality/value The research findings may help university managers understand undergraduates’ online and face-to-face behavior and strategies to improve the behavior to ensure the best academic outcomes. The novelty is based on using the partial least square structural equation modeling technique.

The present study was conducted in a European setting to examine what undergraduate students do on their laptops during a traditional class and to what extent laptop usage behaviors are associated with academic success, along with social networking use and laptop use as distractions. Based on a survey of 200 Spanish graduate students from a public university, the study led to four conclusions: 1) the most prevalent laptop use during class time was for academic purposes; 2) the perception of computer use during class time as a distraction was a significant and positive predictor of academic performance; 3) all predictor variables of laptop use behavior during class time were statistically significant and were positive predictors of social networking use except for searching for complementary information; and 4) in addition to academic performance, all laptop use behavior variables were statistically significant and positive predictors of laptop as a distraction tool, except for taking notes. Theoretical, academic and implications for practice are discussed.

The paper deals with the organization of target work recovery processes after admissible failures and faults in an automatic failure and fault tolerant multitask distributed multi-machine system of the network structure performing a set of the target functions set by external users. The system is characterized by parallel execution of a set of interacting target tasks performed on separate computer subsystems, which are organized sets of digital computers. The specified level of failure- and fault-tolerance of the task is provided by its replication, i.e. parallel execution of copies of this task on several computers that make up the system, with the exchange of results and the choice of the correct one. The study introduces the characteristics, principles of construction, features of the considered systems and their "philosophical" essence from the point of view of failure- and fault-tolerance. Within the research, we determined the factors of complexity in the design of failure- and fault-tolerant systems of this class. The most general model of malicious computer failure is adopted, in which the computer behavior can be arbitrary, different in relation to other computers interacting with it, and even as malicious. We focus on the part of the problem of organizing dynamic redundancy in the developed system. The problem arises after an acceptable set of faults is detected in this system in some complex (or some set of F complexes) by each of the fault-free digital computers of each such complex and each such fault is also synchronously and consistently identified by place of origin and by type as a software failure of a certain digital computer of this complex. This part of the problem is solved by restoring all necessary information identified in a state of software malfunction of a certain complex. The information is transmitted to this digital computer from fault-free digital computers of this complex. The list of instructions required for such a recovery, as well as the actions of the complex in the recovery process, is determined.

<p>Detailed logs of students’ computer use, during independent study sessions, were captured in an open-access computer laboratory. Each log consisted of a chronological sequence of tasks representing either the application or the Internet domain displayed in the workstation’s active window. Each task was classified using a three-tier schema according to its likely context of use: The top-level categories being <em>Academic</em>, <em>Communication</em>, <em>Information</em>, <em>Recreation</em> and <em>Applications</em>. Students switched tasks frequently – median task duration was only 31 seconds. Approximately 30% of all tasks were <em>Academic</em> with the majority of these involving the university’s learning management system. <em>Communication</em> and <em>Recreation</em> tasks accounted for 18% and 9% of tasks respectively. Up to one half of all tasks were not related to study. Multitasking was very common during independent study sessions, particularly when <em>Communication</em> tasks were active. This study confirms that students are likely to regularly switch tasks, attend to distracting tasks, and multitask during independent study. Each one of these behaviours has the potential to negatively impact on students’ learning, and when combined they indicate that students are relatively inefficient at managing competing tasks and their time when studying.</p>

PurposeOnline vigilance is a novel construct which describes individual differences in users' cognitive orientation to online connectedness, their attention to and integration of online-related cues and stimuli and their prioritisation of online communication. Its proponents argue that it is acquired through the processes of instrumental and attentional training that underlie media use behaviours. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the role of three personal characteristics (emotional intelligence, rumination and identity distress) as predictors of online vigilance in addition to media use behaviour.Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopted an exploratory frame and followed a survey-methodology to collect data among a sample of university students (n = 812). The resulting data were analysed through a hierarchical multiple regression process in which four models were considered.FindingsThe findings indicate that while media use behaviours (daily smartphone use, social media use, messaging, video watching and media multitasking) predict online vigilance, their combined effect is weak. However, when considering these behaviours in combination with trait rumination and identity distress, a moderate effect is observable.Research limitations/implicationsWhile the findings do not permit causal inference, it suggests that two personal characteristics, trait rumination and identity distress, play an important role in determining an individual's tendency or ability to psychologically disconnect from their online spheres. This provides an initial step towards the theorisation of online vigilance and the identification of individuals who may be at risk of acquiring it.Originality/valueOnline vigilance is a novel construct which has only been investigated in a small number of studies. However, its emphasis on psychological connectedness presents a unique and important development in the context of permanently online, permanently connected living. The present study is the first to explore its association with personal characteristics.

The rapid development of information technologies in the formation of online or digital environments has a significant impact on the transformation of society contributing to the development of Smart society. This is largely due to the formation of a Smart environment based on the introduction of new technologies. In changing the patterns of social life, these new technologies require and stimulate the transformation of social norms and values. For example, simplified communication between people, expressed in the transfer of instant messages through mobile applications (messengers) gains popularity. Such messages replace verbal communication through mobile devices. The use of modern digital technologies contributes to developing new characteristics of activities, for example, multitasking, which is expressed in the ability to conduct several conversations and perform several actions in parallel. The aim of this study is to find the main trends and differences, and predict the behavior patterns of different age groups in the process of forming a Digital society. Changes can happen swiftly or slowly, in part determined by the speed of release of new information products. There is a latent transformation of generations’ existence in modern society from natural to imposed forced skills against the backdrop of these technological transformations. This research has identified the differences in the perception and attitude of different age groups to this transformation. Keywords: Smart society, Digital society, smart environment, digital media

Introduction The short film Noah (2013) depicts the contemporary story of an adolescent relationship breakdown and its aftermath. The film tells the story by showing events entirely as they unfold on the computer screen of Noah, the film’s teenaged protagonist. All of the characters, including Noah, appear on film solely via technological mediation.Although it is a fictional representation, Noah has garnered a lot of acclaim within an online public for the authenticity and realism of its portrayal of computer-mediated life (Berkowitz; Hornyak; Knibbs; Warren). Judging by the tenor of a lot of this commentary, the film has keyed in to a larger cultural anxiety around issues of communication and relationships online. Many reviewers and interested commentators have expressed concern at how closely Noah’s distracted, frenetic and problematic multitasking resembles their own computer usage (Beggs; Berkowitz; Trumbore). They frequently express the belief that it was this kind of behaviour that led to the relationship breakdown depicted in the film, as Noah proves to be “a lot better at opening tabs than at honest communication” (Knibbs para. 2).I believe that the cultural resonance of the film stems from the way in which the film is an implicit attempt to assess the nature of contemporary online persona. By understanding online persona as a particular kind of “hybrid object” or “quasi-object”—a combination of both human and technological creation (Latour We Have)—the sense of the overall problems, as well as the potential, of online persona as it currently exists, is traceable through the interactions depicted within the film. By understanding social relationships as constituted through dynamic interaction (Schutz), I understand the drama of Noah to stem principally from a tension in the operation of online persona between a) the technological automation of presentation that forms a core part of the nature of contemporary online persona, and b) the need for interaction in effective relationship development. However, any attempt to blame this tension on an inherent tendency in technology is itself problematised by the film’s presentation of an alternative type of online persona, in a Chatroulette conversation depicted in the film’s second half.Persona and Performance, Mediation and DelegationMarshall (“Persona Studies” 163) describes persona as “a new social construction of identity and public display.” This new type of social construction has become increasingly common due to a combination of “changes in work, transformation of our forms of social connection and networking via new technologies, and consequent new affective clusters and micropublics” (Marshall “Persona Studies” 166). New forms of “presentational” media play a key role in the construction of persona by providing the resources through which identity is “performed, produced and exhibited by the individual or other collectives” (Marshall “Persona Studies” 160).In this formulation of persona, it is not clear how performance and presentation interlink with the related concepts of production and exhibition. Marshall’s concept of “intercommunication” suggests a classificatory scheme for these multiple registers of media and communication that are possible in the contemporary media environment. However, Marshall’s primary focus has so far been on the relationship between existing mediated communication forms, and their historical transformation (Marshall “Intercommunication”). Marshall has not as yet made clear the theoretical link between performance, presentation, production and exhibition. Actor-Network Theory (ANT) can provide this theoretical link, and a way of understanding persona as it operates in an online context: as online persona.In ANT, everything that exists is an object. Objects are performative actors—the associations between objects produce the identity of objects and the way they perform. The performative actions of objects, equally, produce the nature of the associations between them (Latour Reassembling). Neither objects nor associations have a prior existence outside of their relationship to each other (Law).For Latour, the semiotic distinction between “human” and “non-human” is itself an outcome of the performances of objects and their associations. There are also objects, which Latour calls “quasi-objects” or “hybrids,” that do not fit neatly on one side of the human/non-human divide or the other (Latour We Have). Online persona is an example of such a hybrid or quasi-object: it is a combination of both human creation and technological mediation.Two concepts formulated by Latour provide some qualitative detail about the nature of the operation of Actor-Networks. Firstly, Latour emphasises that actors are also “mediators.” This name emphasises that when an actor acts to create a connection between two or more other objects, it actively transforms the way that objects encounter the performance of other objects (Latour Reassembling). This notion of mediation resembles Hassan’s definition of “media” as an active agent of transferral (Hassan). But Latour emphasises that all objects, not just communication technologies, act as mediators. Secondly, Latour describes how an actor can take on the actions originally performed by another actor. He refers to this process as “delegation.” Delegation, especially delegation of human action to a technological delegate, can render action more efficient in two ways. It can reduce the effort needed for action, causing “the transformation of a major effort into a minor one.” It can also reduce the time needed to exert effort in performing an action: the effort need not be ongoing, but can be “concentrated at the time of installation” (Latour “Masses” 229-31).Online persona, in the terminology of ANT, is a constructed, performative presentation of identity. It is constituted through a combination of human action, ongoing mediation of present human action, and the automation, through technological delegation, of previous actions. The action of the film Noah is driven by the changes in expected and actual interaction that these various aspects of persona encourage.The Problems and Potential of Online PersonaBy relaying the action entirely via a computer screen, the film Noah is itself a testament to how encounters with others solely via technological mediation can be genuinely meaningful. Relaying the action in this way is in fact creatively productive, providing new ways of communicating details about characters and relationships through the layout of the screen. For instance, the film introduces the character of Amy, Noah’s girlfriend, and establishes her importance to Noah through her visual presence as part of a photo on his desktop background at the start of the film. The film later communicates the end of the relationship when the computer boots up again, but this time with Amy’s photo notably absent from the background.However, the film deviates from a “pure” representation of a computer screen in a number of ways. Most notably, the camera frame is not static, and moves around the screen in order to give the viewer the sense that the camera is simulating Noah’s eye focus. According to the directors, the camera needed to show viewers where the focus of the action was as the story progressed. Without this indication of where to focus, it was hard to keep viewers engaged and interested in the story (Paulas).Within the story of the film itself, the sense of drama surrounding Noah’s actions similarly stem from the exploration of the various aspects of what it is and is not possible to achieve in the performance of persona – both the positive and the negative consequences. At the start of the film, Noah engages in a Skype conversation with his girlfriend Amy. While Noah is indeed “approximating being present” (Berkowitz para. 3) for the initial part of this conversation, once Noah hears an implication that Amy may want to break up with him, the audience sees his eye movements darting between Amy’s visible face in Skype and Amy’s Facebook profile, and nowhere else.It would be a mistake to think that this double focus means Noah is not fully engaging with Amy. Rather, he is engaging with two dimensions of Amy’s available persona: her Facebook profile, and her Skype presence. Noah is fully focusing on Amy at this point of the film, but the unitary persona he experiences as “Amy” is constructed from multiple media channels—one dynamic and real-time, the other comparatively stable and static. Noah’s experience of Amy is multiplexed, a unitary experience constructed from multiple channels of communication. This may actually enhance Noah’s affective involvement with Amy.It is true that at the very start of the Skype call, Noah is focusing on several unrelated activities, not just on Amy. The available technological mediators enable this division of attention. But more than that, the available technological mediators also assume in their functioning that the user’s attention can be and should be divided. Thus some of the distractions Noah experiences at this time are of his own making (e.g. the simple game he plays in a browser window), while others are to some degree configured by the available opportunity to divide one’s attention, and the assumption of others that the user will do so. One of the distractions faced by Noah comes in the form of repeated requests from his friend “Kanye East” to play the game Call of Duty. How socially obligated is Noah to respond to these requests as promptly as possible, regardless of what other important things (that his friend doesn’t know about) he may be doing?Unfortunately, and for reasons which the audience never learns, the Skype call terminates abruptly before Noah can fully articulate his concerns to Amy. With a keen eye, the audience can see that the image of Amy froze not long after Noah started talking to her in earnest. She did indeed appear to be having problems with her Skype, as her later text message suggested. But there’s no indication why Amy decided, as described in the same text message, to postpone the conversation after the Skype call failed.This is a fairly obvious example of the relatively common situation in which one actor unexpectedly refuses to co-operate with the purposes of another (Callon). Noah’s uncertainty at how to address this non-cooperation leads to the penultimate act of the film when he logs in to Amy’s Facebook account. In order to fully consider the ethical issues involved, a performative understanding of the self and of relationships is insufficient. Phenomenological understandings of the self and social relationships are more suited to ethical considerations.Online Persona and Social RelationshipsIn the “phenomenological sociology” of Alfred Schutz, consciousness is inescapably temporal, constantly undergoing slight modification by the very process of progressing through time. The constitution of a social relationship, for Schutz, occurs when two (and only two) individuals share a community of space and time, simultaneously experiencing the same external phenomena. More importantly, it also requires that these two individuals have an ongoing, mutual and simultaneous awareness of each other’s progress and development through time. Finally, it requires that the individuals be mutually aware of the very fact that they are aware of each other in this ongoing, mutual and simultaneous way (Schutz).Schutz refers to this ideal-typical relationship state as the “We-relationship,” and the communal experience that constitutes it as “growing older together.” The ongoing awareness of constantly generated new information about the other is what constitutes a social relationship, according to Schutz. Accordingly, a lack of such information exchange will lead to a weaker social bond. In situations where direct interaction does not occur, Schutz claimed that individuals would construct their knowledge of the other through “typification”: pre-learned schemas of identity of greater or lesser generality, affixed to the other based on whatever limited information may be available.In the film, when Amy is no longer available via Skype, an aspect of her persona is still available for interrogation. After the failed Skype call, Noah repeatedly refreshes Amy’s Facebook profile, almost obsessively checking her relationship status to see if it has changed from reading “in a relationship.” In the process he discovers that, not long after their aborted Skype conversation, Amy has changed her profile picture—from one that had an image of the two of them together, to one that contains an image of Amy only. He also in the process discovers that someone he does not know named “Dylan Ramshaw” has commented on all of Amy’s current and previous profile pictures. Dylan’s Facebook profile proves resistant to interrogation—Noah’s repeated, frustrated attempts to click on Dylan’s profile picture to bring up more detail yields no results. In the absence of an aspect of persona that undergoes constant temporal change, any new information attained—a profile picture changed, a not-previously noticed regular commenter discovered—seems to gain heightened significance in defining not just the current relationship status with another, but the trajectory which that relationship is taking. The “typification” that Noah constructs of Amy is that of a guilty, cheating girlfriend.The penultimate act of the film occurs when Noah chooses to log in to Amy’s Facebook account using her password (which he knows), “just to check for sketchy shit,” or so he initially claims to Kanye East. His suspicions appear to be confirmed when he discovers that private exchanges between Amy and Dylan which indicate that they had been meeting together without Noah’s knowledge. The suggestion to covertly read Amy’s private Facebook messages comes originally from Kanye East, when he asks Noah “have you lurked [covertly read] her texts or anything?” Noah’s response strongly suggests the normative uncertainty that the teenaged protagonist feels at the idea; his initial response to Kanye East reads “is that the thing to do now?” The operation of Facebook in this instance has two, somewhat contradictory, delegated tasks: let others feel connected to Amy and what she’s doing, but also protect Amy’s privacy. The success of the second goal interferes with Noah’s desire to achieve the first. And so he violates her privacy.The times that Noah’s mouse hovers and circles around a button that would send a message from Amy’s account or update Amy’s Facebook profile are probably the film’s most cringe-inducing moments. Ultimately Noah decides to update Amy’s relationship status to single. The feedback he receives to Amy’s account immediately afterwards seems to confirm his suspicions that this was what was going to happen anyway: one friend of Amy’s says “finally” in a private message, and the suspicious “Dylan” offers up a shoulder to cry on. Apparently believing that this reflects the reality of their relationship, Noah leaves the status on Amy’s Facebook profile as “single.”The tragedy of the film is that Noah’s assumptions were quite incorrect. Rather than reflecting their updated relationship status, the change revealed to Amy that he had violated her privacy. Dylan’s supposedly over-familiar messages were perfectly acceptable on the basis that Dylan was not actually heterosexual (and therefore a threat to Noah’s role as boyfriend), but gay.The Role of Technology: “It’s Complicated”One way to interpret the film would be to blame Noah’s issues on technology per se. This is far too easy. Rather, the film suggests that Facebook was to some degree responsible for Noah’s relationship issues and the problematic way in which he tried to address them. In the second half of the film, Noah engages in a very different form of online interaction via the communication service known as Chatroulette. This interaction stands in sharp contrast to the interactions that occurred via Facebook.Chatroulette is a video service that pairs strangers around the globe for a chat session. In the film, Noah experiences a fairly meaningful moment on Chatroulette with an unnamed girl on the service, who dismisses Facebook as “weird and creepy”. The sheer normative power of Facebook comes across when Noah initially refuses to believe the unnamed Chatroulette girl when she says she does not have a Facebook profile. She suggests, somewhat ironically, that the only way to have a real, honest conversation with someone is “with a stranger, in the middle of the night”, as just occurred on Chatroulette.Besides the explicit comparison between Facebook and Chatroulette in the dialogue, this scene also provides an implicit comparison between online persona as it is found on Facebook and as it is found on Chatroulette. The style of interaction on each service is starkly different. On Facebook, users largely present themselves and perform to a “micro-public” of their “friends.” They largely engage in static self-presentations, often “interacting” only through interrogating the largely static self-presentations of others. On Chatroulette, users interact with strangers chosen randomly by an algorithm. Users predominantly engage in dialogue one-on-one, and interaction tends to be a mutual, dynamic affair, much like “real life” conversation.Yet while the “real-time” dialogue possible on Chatroulette may seem more conducive to facilitating Schutz’ idea of “growing older together,” the service also has its issues. The randomness of connection with others is problematic, as the film frankly acknowledges in the uncensored shots of frontal male nudity that Noah experiences in his search for a chat partner. Also, the problematic lack of a permanent means of staying in contact with each other is illustrated by a further tragic moment in the film when the session with the unnamed girl ends, with Noah having no means of ever being able to find her again.ConclusionIt is tempting to dismiss the problems that Noah encounters while interacting via mediated communication with the exhortation to “just go out and live [… ] life in the real world” (Trumbore para. 4), but this is also over-simplistic. Rather, what we can take away from the film is that there are trade-offs to be had in the technological mediation of self-presentation and communication. The questions that we need to address are: what prompts the choice of one form of technological mediation over another? And what are the consequences of this choice? Contemporary persona, as conceived by David Marshall, is motivated by the commodification of the self, and by increased importance of affect in relationships (Marshall “Persona Studies”). In the realm of Facebook, the commodification of the self has to some degree flattened the available interactivity of the online self, in favour of what the unnamed Chatroulette girl derogatorily refers to as “a popularity contest.”The short film Noah is to some degree a cultural critique of dominant trends in contemporary online persona, notably of the “commodification of the self” instantiated on Facebook. By conceiving of online persona in the terms of ANT outlined here, it becomes possible to envision alternatives to this dominant form of persona, including a concept of persona as commodification. Further, it is possible to do this in a way that avoids the trap of blaming technology for all problems, and that recognises both the advantages and disadvantages of different ways of constructing online persona. The analysis of Noah presented here can therefore provide a guide for more sophisticated and systematic examinations of the hybrid-object “online persona.”References Beggs, Scott. “Short Film: The Very Cool ‘Noah’ Plays Out Madly on a Teenager’s Computer Screen.” Film School Rejects 11 Sep. 2013. 3 Mar. 2014. Callon, M. “Some Elements of a Sociology of Translation: Domestication of the Scallops and the Fishermen of St Brieuc Bay.” Power, Action and Belief: A New Sociology of Knowledge? Ed. John Law. London, UK: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986. 196–223. Berkowitz, Joe. “You Need to See This 17-Minute Film Set Entirely on a Teen’s Computer Screen.” Fast Company 10 Sep. 2013. 1 Mar. 2014. Hassan, Robert. Media, Politics and the Network Society. Maidenhead: Open University Press, 2004. Hornyak, Tim. “Short Film ‘Noah’ Will Make You Think Twice about Facebook—CNET.” CNET 19 Sep. 2013. 2 Mar. 2014. Knibbs, Kate. “‘Have You Lurked Her Texts?’: How the Directors of ‘Noah’ Captured the Pain of Facebook-Era Dating.” Digital Trends 14 Sep. 2013. 9 Feb. 2014. Latour, Bruno. Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network Theory. Oxford University Press, 2005. Latour, Bruno. We Have Never Been Modern. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1993. Latour, Bruno. “Where Are the Missing Masses? The Sociology of a Few Mundane Artifacts.” Shaping Technology/Building Society: Studies in Sociotechnical Change. Ed. Wiebe E. Bijker and John Law. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1992. 225–58. Law, John. “After ANT: Complexity, Naming and Topology.” Actor-Network Theory and After. Ed. John Law and John Hassard. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1999. 1–14. Marshall, P. David. “Persona Studies: Mapping the Proliferation of the Public Self.” Journalism 15.2 (2014): 153–170. Marshall, P. David. “The Intercommunication Challenge: Developing a New Lexicon of Concepts for a Transformed Era of Communication.” ICA 2011: Proceedings of the 61st Annual ICA Conference. Boston, MA: Intrenational Communication Association, 2011. 1–25. Paulas, Rick. “Step inside the Computer Screen of ‘Noah.’” VICE 18 Jan. 2014. 8 Feb. 2014. Schutz, Alfred. The Phenomenology of the Social World. Trans. George Walsh and Frederick Lehnert. London, UK: Heinemann, 1972. Trumbore, Dave. “Indie Spotlight: NOAH - A 17-Minute Short Film from Patrick Cederberg and Walter Woodman.” Collider 2013. 2 Apr. 2014. Warren, Christina. “The Short Film That Takes Place Entirely inside a Computer.” Mashable 13 Sep.2013. 9 Feb. 2014. Woodman, Walter, and Patrick Cederberg. Noah. 2013.