Laptops are commonplace in university classrooms. In light of cognitive psychology theory on costs associated with multitasking, this study examined the effects of in-class laptop use on student learning in a simulated classroom. It found that participants who multitasked on a laptop during a lecture scored lower on a test compared to those who did not multitask, and participants who were in direct view of a multitasking peer scored lower on a test compared to those who were not. The results demonstrate that multitasking on a laptop poses a significant distraction to both users and fellow students and can be detrimental to comprehension of lecture content.

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