Internet use and time use: the importance of multitasking

Scholars are beginning to question the impacts of the Internet for the conceptualisation of time and time use. However, discussion in terms of the impacts of the Internet for multitasking has been absent from this debate. Multitasking has, until recently, been a 'forgotten dimension' of time use research. The phenomenon has long been recognised as important, yet it is only in the past decade that time use researchers have begun seriously both to record and analyse related data. Such studies have shown that a more fully informed understanding of the true extent of time use and activity participation can emerge through the consideration of multitasking. This, in turn, can present a more accurate picture upon which measures of change in time use can be assessed. This paper is concerned with an exploratory discussion of the impact of the inclusion of multitasking data upon perception of change in time use as a result of Internet use. Following theoretical discussion, the paper presents evidence from a longitudinal, diary-based panel study with c. 100 participants and a questionnaire survey with 1,000 participants. The paper explores the prevalence of multitasking and reveals clear implications of Internet use for the same, concluding that those seeking to understand the influence of Internet use upon time use must include multitasking in their analysis, if they are to avoid an incomplete and potentially misleading account of time use (and change therein) in the information age.