Combining background media with doing homework: Incidence of background media use and perceived effects

A survey study was conducted to explore the frequency with which students use background media in self-instructional home study settings, and the perceived effects of students' use of background media on their homework performance. A questionnaire administered to 1,700 students in Grades 8 and 10 asked students to indicate how often they perform different types of homework assignments and how often they incorporate different types of background media while doing them. In addition, students indicated how they divide their attention between homework assignments and background media, and how they perceive the effects that media may have on their performance on different types of homework assignments. Results indicated that the frequency with which students reportedly combined homework and media depended on the type of schoolwork (learning assignments versus paper-and-pencil assignments), type of background medium (audio media or TV), and the students' level of secondary education. In general, students felt that their performance on learning assignments was impaired by the use of background media. Their performance on paper-and-pencil assignments, however, was somewhat increased by the use of background audio media and music TV.