Multitasking is an unavoidable part of youth culture today. A bevy of studies show that teens and early 20-somethings juggle a variety of activities when they should be working—from watching television while doing homework to checking Facebook during college lectures.

One such study involved researchers observing 263 students (from middle school, high school and college) as they supposedly were studying. The researchers found that within two minutes many were texting, tweeting, surfing the Internet, watching TV and/or updating their Facebook page. After 15 minutes, the scientists found that students spent only 65 percent of that time studying.

“We were amazed at how frequently they multitasked, even though they knew someone was watching,” says Larry Rosen, a psychology professor at California State University-Dominguez Hills. “It was kind of scary, actually.”

Indeed, studies show that such multitasking is scary—primarily for the multitasking students. Multitaskers generally remember less of what they study while doing other things; and the stuff they do remember, they have more difficulty understanding. Some scientists believe that people who have the ability to resist the pull of distraction have a leg up on their multitasking peers and will be more successful when they reach the work force.

“There’s nothing magical about the brains of so-called digital natives that keeps them from suffering the inefficiencies of multitasking,” says David Meyer, a professor of psychology from the University of Michigan. “They may like to do it, they may be addicted to it; but there’s no getting around the fact that it’s far better to focus on one task from start to finish.” (Slate)

Paul Asay has covered religion for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for Plugged In and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He lives in Colorado Springs with wife, Wendy, and two children. Follow him on Twitter.