Experimental Study of Working Memory and Attention of Adolescents with Varying Degrees of Internet Involvement during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The study of working memory and attention of adolescents aged 16-17 years was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused additional stress due to forced isolation and reduced social contacts. The decrease in opportunities to communicate with peers was reflected in increased communication on social networks and the use of online games on the Internet, which fully corresponds to the information known in the literature. The study of working memory and attention was conducted in a group of high school students (43 people), with satisfactory and good academic performance, who had previously participated in a questionnaire to assess the characteristics of behavior in an Intern. Cognitive processes were evaluated in a computer program simulating gaming activity using a dynamic digital matrix. Students had to quickly search for numbers of different sizes located in cells, the color of which changed after each search action. The program recorded two types of errors due to choosing the wrong number when forgetting the previous choice and due to choosing the wrong number in a cell with a reduced quality of conscious attention, as well as the reaction time to the correct choice, the time of erroneous actions and the total time of the test. The task turned out to be very difficult for teenagers, as not everyone successfully coped with it the first time. The average group search time for digits is 10 seconds with the number of errors in the search equal to 50, that is, exceeding the number of changes in the matrix. Factor analysis allowed us to establish a high negative correlation of the poor quality of the task in the dynamic matrix with the time spent daily with gadgets in a virtual environment. Closer links between digital leisure time and the number of errors were found for the characteristics of working memory than for arbitrary attention.

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