During scientific talks, one sees many people not following the talks but looking at their screens (laptop, tablet, phone, etc). Is that good or bad?
Good reasons
There are excellent reasons to keep a laptop or a phone open during a scientific talks, in particular all those activities that are directly related to the talk:
- Taking notes: one takes notes about the talk, whether as a file, a recap email to colleagues, a live blog post.
- Second-screening: one uses the device to get additional information about the speaker or a topic she has mentioned.
- Discussing about the talk with other attendees: sharing information with others, doing jokes about the talk is a great way to emotionally engage with the talk
See many other reasons in Phones and Laptops at Conferences: Friends or Enemies?
Bad reasons
There are many cases when using a laptop or phone signals one problem
- Addiction to news: if we keep refreshing our email / twitter /
feed, we may be addicted to social media addiction - Lack a prioritization: if we absolutely need the talk time slot to work on something else, then we may rather not come to the tal, where the setup is suboptimal for concentration for working.
- Short attention span: it seems that our lifestyle shortens the attention span, it may be time to practice again our deep concentration skills,
The science
Studying the pros and cons of using laptops and phones during scientific talks can be scientifically studied. Selection of papers from New Times Times review made in 2017:
- The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking PDF
- Laptop multitasking hinders classroom learning for both users and nearby peers PDF
- The impact of computer usage on academic performance: Evidence from a randomized trial at the United States Military Academy PDF
- See related papers
Conclusion: find a proper usage of your electronic devices
Remember the three last talks you attended, did you have your laptop open or close? Was is for a good reason? for a bad reason? What’s your conclusion?
Finally, I would like to encourage you to close your devices for three other reasons:
- Encourage the speaker: it is a terrible feeling to speak to people who are not looking at you. As audience, you contribute to the talk quality: the more you look at the speaker, the more she is engaged in the talk and she gives a good speech.
- Get bored: many talks are boring. But boredom is excellent! It’s one state of mind where one may become super creative.
- Be brilliant: think about your role models in your field, what do they do? do they engage with talks? are they stuck on their laptops? Is there a correlation between success and concentration during talks? You decide!
–Martin Monperrus
November 2019