Multitasking Across Borders: A Cross-National Study of Media Multitasking Behaviors, Its Antecedents, and Outcomes

Authors

  • Anastasia Kononova Michigan State University

Keywords:

Media multitasking, perceived attention to primary media messages, digital divide, multilevel model analysis, cross-national comparison

Abstract

The study explores media multitasking behaviors of young adults in the United States, Russia, and Kuwait(N = 532). The results of multilevel modeling find that media factors such as structural, macro characteristics of media markets (e.g., technology distribution, the state of press freedom), individual media ownership, and audience demographic and psychological differences such as gender and sensation seeking predict media multitasking. In turn, media multitasking, along with structural characteristics of media markets, is found to predict perceived attention paid to primary media messages. The study offers cross-national evidence to support the existing developments in the area of media multitasking and suggests that individual- and market-level differences must be considered to explain media multitasking behaviors and perceived attention to mediated contents.

Author Biography

Anastasia Kononova, Michigan State University

 Assistant Professor of AdvertisingDepartment of Advertising + Public RelationsMichigan State UniversityPhone: 573 825 2851Anastasia Kononova studies media multitasking behaviors and effects in persuasive communication. She explores multitasking as a media use habit and as a process of dividing attention between a persuasive message and the context in which it is presented. Anastasia takes interdisciplinary and international approaches to study the phenomenon and effects of media multitasking. Before joining the Department of Advertising + Public Relations at Michigan State University, Anastasia worked as an assistant professor of communication and media at the American University of Kuwait. She earned a doctoral degree at the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism and a master’s degree at Oklahoma State University. Before graduate school, Anastasia studied in Rostov State University (Southern Federal University since 2006) in Russia, where she also worked as a corporate communication specialist. 

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Published

2013-08-15

Issue

Vol. 7 (2013)

Section

Articles

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