Multitasking goes global: Multitasking with traditional and new electronic media and attention to media messages among college students in Kuwait, Russia, and the USA

Abstract

The current study examined multitasking with traditional and new electronic media among college students ( N = 532) in three countries: Kuwait, Russia, and the USA. Television, music, phone, and the Internet were the most popular media to multitask with and were often used interchangeably, i.e., without the dominance of one medium over another. The game–music pair was the only one with clear distinction between primary (game) and secondary (music) media. Eating, socializing, and doing homework were the most popular nonmedia activities combined with traditional and new electronic media uses. Media-only and media–nonmedia multitasking were found in positive association with perceived attention paid to media messages. The study not only indicated universal media multitasking trends but also revealed cross-national differences that can be explained by economic, political, and cultural characteristics varying across the three nations.