Background. Capacity for simultaneous execution of several tasks is undergoing a new period of development because of high social demands for such skills (Bühner et al., 2006). Multitasking is considered as a frequent personal preference in many activities (Slocombe, Bluedorn, 1999; Poposki et al., 2009). The aim was to compare media-multitasking with its effectiveness in schoolchildren. Methods. 57 children 7-10 years old, 54 adolescents 11-13 years old and 46 adolescents 14-16 years old solved a series of tasks presented simultaneously on a screen computer and sequentially in the form of SMS to a mobile phone. Children were instructed about some destructors before experiment as important (intentional multitasking) and not about others (unintentional multitasking). Results and conclusions. 3 (Age groups) ×2 (Type of Multitasking: intentional or unintentional) MANOVA revealed interaction effect (F=3.33, p<0,05, η²=0,04) suggesting that children 7-10 years old almost equally ineffective in both intentional and unintentional multitasking. By the age 11-13 years adolescents switch more effectively to tasks that were mentioned in the instruction. By the age 14-16 years this capacity seemed to extend to unintentional multitasking. Research was supported by the Russian Foundation for Fundamental Research, project 19-29-14181

Multitasking as a strategy of choice in adolescents: relationship with effectiveness and task switching