SHANNON URTNOWSKI
Living Editor
Hannah Ehrig/Staff photographer
College students drive the age of technology, an age filled with various gizmos, gadgets and other cutting-edge electronics that are constantly being updated and improved. Being the children of this “Net Generation,” which, according to wikepedia.com, includes those born from the late 1970s through the 1990s, it is hard for many students to avoid getting caught up in this world.
Students need to be conscious, though, of the amount of time they spend devoted to browsing the Internet each day, as it is a resource that opens individuals to a world of vast possibility, both good and bad.
With a number of different online messaging, gambling, shopping and networking sites in which to get lost, it is easy for many to do just that. Moderation is the key to healthy usage, said Sr. Connie Horton, the director of Pepperdine’s counseling center.
“I don’t think for everyone, but certainly for some it can be negative or lead to compulsive behavior,” Horton said. “Students should start to notice a problem when their academic, social and spiritual lives start to get out of balance.”
Horton, who said students spend about an hour-and-a-half of their time per day online for fun, said she sees this problem especially in college students trying to sort through problems in their lives.
“The biggest question is, ‘What are they not doing when they’re online?’” Horton said of students. “What they are not doing is resolving conflicts and dealing with their own emotions.”
The Internet is easily accessible and provides a distraction to certain students looking to avoid aspects of their lives that need addressing, such as relationship issues, schoolwork or stress.
And, there are a number of different ways that students can use the Internet.
Hannah Ehrig/Staff photographer
Sophomore Jeff O’Brien said his favorite activities on the Internet are the Web games. He said he plays about three times a week, but he realizes it is not the most productive use of his time.
“It’s a terrible way to spend time because it takes up so much of it,” O’Brien said. “You only get on for mindless fun.”
O’Brien said he also goes online regularly to check his e-mail and Facebook account.
Sophomore Amanda Gordon said she likes to sign online to check those, as well, and chat with her friends.
“I probably go on Facebook and instant messenger more than anything else online,” Gordon said. “I like it because it’s easy to stay in touch with all of my friends.”
She said she realizes that, for many students, browsing the Internet can become a distraction, so she does not take her laptop to class. She knows what she needs to do to avoid being sucked into the downward slope it can present.
“You have to know yourself and what you’re going to do,” Gordon said.
Sophomore Ashley Burt, who said she browses the Web most frequently to shop and check out new music on iTunes and MySpace, agreed.
She said she has had days, however, where she has signed online with the intent of signing off, realizing only hours later she did not. She keeps herself in check, though, and separates class time from free time.
Not everyone has this kind of will power, though. Many students said they see their classmates succumb to the temptation of the online world during all times of the day, even class time.
“Pretty much anyone who has a computer is online during class, especially in Elkins,” O’Brien said.
Freshman Lauren Aldrich, who most frequently visits Facebook when on the Web, said she notices students using the Internet as a distraction during inappropriate times, as well.
“I don’t have a laptop, but there are always people in the small classes with 13 people or so going online, and you also see it when you go in the library for the tours,” Aldrich said.
Horton said the amount of time that is acceptable for each student to spend online daily differs, as Web use can serve both positive and negative purposes depending on the circumstances. Students simply need to make sure that their personal usage is not becoming a compulsive habit, as this could be the sign of addiction.
“How much time you spend on a computer matters,” Horton said. “Take notice of the subtle message by taking a look at your own life. It’s not just drugs and alcohol — this could be destructive too.”
10-06-2006