Adjusting the volume : technology and multitasking in discourse control

This chapter focuses on understanding multitasking with information and communication technologies (ICTs) in respect to interpersonal communication management, and also presents ICTs’ contribution to controlling conversations in fixed and mobile technologies. The introduction of voice mails, caller ID, and facilities to block calls from specific numbers are a few examples of the contribution of ICTs in helping subscribers or users to control their conversations. The chapter discusses e-mails and instant messaging (IM) as services that provide opportunities for recipients to avoid or manipulate messages from the sender. It presents reasons for multitasking along with comparing cognitive and social multitasking. Performance changes while practicing cognitive and social multitasking with ICTs are presented along with American college students’ multitasking patterns, the importance of social multitasking, and acceptable and unacceptable behaviors of the preceding.