One of the central ideas from Sam Anderson’s In Defense of Distraction is when David Meyer, director of the University of Michigan’s brain, cognition, and action laboratory, debunks the idea of efficient multitasking. In the first paragraph of page 5, Meyer goes on to discuss how your brain “processes different kinds of information on a variety of separate channels. A language channel, a visual channel, an auditory channel, and so on” (Anderson 5). I strongly agree with this viewpoint. I would consider myself an avid multitasker when carrying about my daily activities. Even now, I am multitasking. As I am both writing this journal and currently waiting for my cycle of laundry to finish, I am balancing these two tasks– but I do realize that multitasking also may come with ineffectiveness. This depends on the task at hand. For example, I love the point in the article when Anderson highlights the discussion of driving and describing your surroundings simultaneously. He goes on to describe how both these feats may occupy your visual channel enough to impair your ability to be fully aware of your surroundings. Even with the radio, the occupancy of my visual channel can interfere with my road concentration. On the other hand, I also enjoy the justice that Meyer brings to multitasking, such as when he mentions folding laundry and listening to stock reports simultaneously. There have been times when my multitasking has paid off—so it is very intriguing to hear justice from both viewpoints.

Additionally, Anderson discusses the topic of neuroplasticity as it pertains to the digital natives of the next generation. He discusses this point in the last paragraph of page eleven– bleeding into page 12. I also agree that this neuroplasticity has been occurring much faster than most people would anticipate. I see this in contrast with the newer and older generations. For example, my grandmother still has the 2007s tech of her Nokia flip phone, as that’s what comes easiest for her to use. She requires time to flip through her contacts and dial the person she wishes to converse with. On the flip side of the coin, my niece can navigate her iPhone 15 with much ease, much easier than me at times. She can hold multiple conversations with people on social media simultaneously. She does this all the while switching between those conversations and whatever she is conducting in real life. As our newer generations become ever more acquainted with the modern world of technology, we are strongly changing the way we store information and carry our processes in our brains.