An eye-tracking study to investigate the impact of media multitasking behaviour on visual attention and learning performance in online learning

Eye-tracking technology was employed to examine how varying levels of media multitasking behaviours influence students’ visual attention and learning performance in online education. Students’ eye movements were tracked and recorded while they simultaneously engaged in online platforms and media activities in an English vocabulary course. Based on the media multitasking index, 46 participants were categorised into high or low media multitasking groups. The study compared key eye movement measures: latency of first fixation, duration of first fixation, total fixation duration, and fixation count across different regions of interest. Results revealed that students from the two groups showed different fixation sequences in visual attention. The main screen content attracted the attention of both groups first, and students spent more time focusing on this content while learning. Analytical results showed that the low-level group’s learning performance significantly exceeded that of the high-level group in the subsequent English vocabulary test. The study provides eye-tracking evidence that students engaging in high media multitasking struggle to focus on instructional content, emphasising the need for strategies that effectively manage multitasking. There is also a critical need to teach students how to manage media distractions so as to enhance their academic performance in online learning.