Technological Addiction: How Social Networking and Texting have Killed Human Communication
Vicki Holda
Issue date: 5/1/09 Section: Editorial & Opinion
As we enter another scorching summer and ditch the Biology labs and research papers, we must also remember to enjoy our vacations, even if that means abandoning our laptops and twitter accounts for a day at the beach or zoo.
Wright College student Sajid Patel admits he sends more than 4,000 text messages in just one month. "And that's on the low end. When I'm really texting, I end up sending about 7,000 messages a month." Patel also said that he "couldn't imagine life without texting because it makes everything so much easier."
Many, if not all, Wright professors clearly state in their syllabus that cell phone use is prohibited but that rule is often overlooked by students. Who cares? Right? Texting your girlfriend or updating your facebook during class time seems much more important than a $216 lecture.
Wright student Diego Pineda said, "In some cases, a person might not really care and they'll be texting during class or on the internet and just not paying attention. It's up to the person." He continued, "Those who are paying for their tuition, that's their problem. They're wasting their money or the government's money." So when you see a D or F as your final grade, don't be surprised. It could be because you insisted on refreshing your newsfeeds on Facebook via your crackberry during class.
Facebook (which currently has more than 200 million active users) took off within the past year because of its fun applications, quizzes, games and of course, status updates. MySpace tried implementing them and failed miserably when a number of users updated their pages saying MySpace was mimicking Facebook. In late February, worldwide users seemed appalled when they discovered that their terms of use for their accounts changed and that applications, quizzes, photos, blog posts and any other personal information would be sent to a third party.
But nearly three months later, it seems as though everyone's gone back to their old ways. Everybody's too busy playing Mafia Wars to remember the importance of voicing their concerns to Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook creator, and his five-year-old website.
Wright College student Sajid Patel admits he sends more than 4,000 text messages in just one month. "And that's on the low end. When I'm really texting, I end up sending about 7,000 messages a month." Patel also said that he "couldn't imagine life without texting because it makes everything so much easier."
Many, if not all, Wright professors clearly state in their syllabus that cell phone use is prohibited but that rule is often overlooked by students. Who cares? Right? Texting your girlfriend or updating your facebook during class time seems much more important than a $216 lecture.
Wright student Diego Pineda said, "In some cases, a person might not really care and they'll be texting during class or on the internet and just not paying attention. It's up to the person." He continued, "Those who are paying for their tuition, that's their problem. They're wasting their money or the government's money." So when you see a D or F as your final grade, don't be surprised. It could be because you insisted on refreshing your newsfeeds on Facebook via your crackberry during class.
Facebook (which currently has more than 200 million active users) took off within the past year because of its fun applications, quizzes, games and of course, status updates. MySpace tried implementing them and failed miserably when a number of users updated their pages saying MySpace was mimicking Facebook. In late February, worldwide users seemed appalled when they discovered that their terms of use for their accounts changed and that applications, quizzes, photos, blog posts and any other personal information would be sent to a third party.
But nearly three months later, it seems as though everyone's gone back to their old ways. Everybody's too busy playing Mafia Wars to remember the importance of voicing their concerns to Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook creator, and his five-year-old website.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Worlds Hardest Game
posted 3/16/10 @ 7:50 PM CST
I agree with you. I don't know how to talk to people anymore. Because its so hard for me to not type to someone.
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