Multi-tasking...good or bad?

So I can definitely say I'm a multi-tasker, but I guess it all depends on the situation. When I'm doing something simple like floating around on the internet, I almost always multi-task. I'm usually either texting or doing simple like homework. But when it comes to something important like driving or working I try to avoid distractions. I like to stay focused on the task at hand. It all depends on how difficult I feel the it is, and depending on that I will decide whether or not to do other things at the same time. This usually works for me pretty well; I get a lot more done in a shorter amount of time.
In Charles J. Abate's article on multi-tasking he talks about how the younger students are very big on muti-tasking. It is a common part of our society now and it is found that students that do this excel in their environment. Some of our elders have not been able to master this technique because they were never raised that way. He also states that, "For certain kinds of behavior, brains (like microprocessors) are essentially linear devices that are incapable of performing two seperate tasks simultaneously.
He goes through and explains three of the myths about multi-tasking. The first myth is "Multi-tasking saves time." Some people say that it saves time and works well to multi-task, but Charles says otherwise. He compares the brain to a microprocessor in a computer. Since the human mind is incapable of doing to things literally at once, it must remember where we left off with one task when we move on to the other..and vica versa. Computers are much better at doing this than our brains because we become so involved in the task at hand that we tend to forget where we left off on the other one. This is proof that multi-tasking actually slows us down in our work.
The second myth that Abate comments on is, "Multi-tasked learning is as good as single-tasked learning." Multi-tasking actually changes the way our brains learn and retain information. This is due to the different parts of the brain that deal with multi-tasking and single-tasking.
And finally, the third myth is on, "Multi-tasking is the forte of the young." An experiment was done with people ages 18-21 and 35-39 and when tested, the younger group processed the information they were given faster. But when there was and interrupting phone call, the older group was much more efficient. They are much more capable of blocking out interruptions and deciding what to focus on.
The information was all very interesting to me and I think that it is right! I could have completed this blog 3-times faster if I hadn't been multi-tasking the entire time!!