Recently in class, Professor Pursel brought up the topic of a second screen and how attached humans as a society have become to technology. As much as I wanted to disagree with him, I looked around to see people going back and forth between the lecture and their phone. I then went back through my day to realize my own habits were equally as bad. In fact, I would suggest that the majority of students now simply could not go a day without their phone. Anywhere you go–library, walking down college, cafeterias–just about everyone is engaged by technology. Now I am not necessarily saying that is a bad thing: technology as a whole has transformed into a dynamic, ever-changing aspect of life and a desire to be up to date on everything is equally as influential. Yet, where is this leading us as a society? How will scrolling through Twitter every hour make an impact on my life?
I know too well how tempting it is to check Instagram for the -nth time during that class you inherently cannot stand, and I also know I am not innocent when it comes to being attached to technology. My roommates even complain that I am too engulfed by my phone to even acknowledge them at times (which may or may not be on purpose). Honestly speaking however, I wish I was not so enamored by my phone and that social media did not take up as large a part of my life as it does. What certain people should experiment with is seeing how long one can go without checking Facebook or sending a Tweet, just to see what else takes up that time. I am not asking for people to put away their cell phones completely (see article below), but maybe check social media a little less to take in the life you have.
Every year, a movement called National Day of Unplugging advocates for people to depend on technology less for at least one day. The website (http://nationaldayofunplugging.com/) provides visitors with reasons why hundreds decide to unplug from technology. Too often are events like dinner dates interrupted by phone usage and the possibility of a connection is lost. In the case of Penn State, we stay within our comfort zone and rely on our phones instead of conversing with someone next to you on the White Loop, maybe learning something new. The second screen and social media epidemic has hit hard and while I do not support a complete overhaul against technology, I push for having the ability of going to an event and actually experiencing it instead of being preoccupied of getting the best picture for your profile pic. I love how advanced technology has become and it has positively affected my life, but I am afraid of our society depending on it too much. What are you thoughts on the subject? Please comment with your opinions.
Sources and related articles:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/26/opinion/obeidallah-cell-phone/
http://nationaldayofunplugging.com/
This is a great post and I could not agree more with the author. Fortunately, I have an old HTC with broken screen and the phone lags a lot. As a result, I don’t really want to use it to check Instagram, Facebook, and other apps. I use the phone just for email and SMS notifications only so that I stay connected to the world. If everybody had stopped using technology, I would not need to use technology as well. Therefore I conclude that we ourselves make each other addicted to technology. In the past we had to actually meet each other in real life in order to discuss something or just to enjoy time spending with each other. Today we do that with technology with somewhat downgrades feelings that we get after interacting with each other through technology. Therefore we need to decrease the amount of time that we spend on staring on our smartphones. Here are some tips that helped me once.
First of all, you have to gradually decrease the number of times that you log into various apps. Some people do that every thirty minutes, some every hour. Recall what is self-control and start increasing the gaps between logging various apps.
Second of all, you have to do something important every minute of your day spent. Join some sport club or any other club at Penn State. Personally, I joined Judo club at Penn State and it consumes a lot of time. As a result, I am left with less time spent on browsing news feeds of various apps and on studies. Therefore, I had to increase my productivity in order to keep up with my studies. This is another advantage.
Third, you have to really understand that the true life and the best life experience is not in our smartphones, but it’s there – outside and with our friends and families. When I will become an old man, the only thing that I want to remember is my actual life and not those useless photos from Instagram and Facebook that wasted my time.
I would like to conclude with Bertrand Russell’s quote, who once said: “To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization, and at present very few people have reached this level”. More quotes from Bertrand Russell can be found here: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/125602-to-be-able-to-fill-leisure-intelligently-is-the-last
As you said technology is not necessarily a bad thing, it has it’s negative and positive impacts on society. However, I think this topic is one of the important , if not most imoportant negative impacts. Technology as become such a regular part of our day. I gave a speech in CAS 100 last year about the over usage of mobile phones and how it has become a real addiction. Studies found that people can be addicted to cell phones the same way they can be addicted to drugs and alcohol. Like you, I wish I used my phone less. I even wish I could delete my Facebook, because I often find myself scrolling through people’s post and being on the site way longer than I had planned. I think most college students can say they often go on Facebook just to check one thing or a five minute check, but then end up being on for way longer. I enjoy when I am on vacation and never even think about checking any social media sites. However, the problem with not using these sites, is lose the connection with people. Facebook is the main source of communication for some of my glass groups and student organizations. I am on Club Lacrosse, and we send e-mails about everything we post, but we use our Facebook group as the main form of communication between the team. I am president this year, and there is no way I could go even a day without going on Facebook and checking the group. I think the major struggle is the fact that technology has so many impacts that are positive and negative. It is hard to use technology for just the positive impacts. Like I said, I might go on Facebook to post something in our lacrosse group (positive impact of communication), but then get distracted by people’s post for another 30 minutes (negative impact). One might say the answer is self control, which definitely can be true, but I don’t think there is one clear answer to the negative impacts of technology.
The only real way to solve second screen in class issues is to write it into the syllabus. Forget the notion that second screen integration in class could be useful. Although I have to concede that doing away with iClickers in favor of text message polling would be fine with me. I can only see the problem getting worse. Each new set of freshman is more and more addicted to their phones. Perhaps that’s the real addiction we should be concerned with phone addiction not internet addiction as the homework quiz guided us through. In high school I put my phone in a box for a week to see if I could do it. The parents weren’t too happy, however, they understood the gesture I was making. Fortunately the capabilities of my flip phone were limited. I also had different uses for my phone then. Coordinating rides or even setting up some hang out time with friends. Fast forward to 2015; I’ve gone several hours without my phone. Its hard for me to focus without it. I constantly wonder where it is. Who’s calls I’m missing. Even if I’m not on it I check the time with it. Then when it’s dead I race around frantically to find an outlet; always enjoy coming to 110 because they are right there in front of me. I’ve gotten so frustrated with it that I bought a portable battery pack to charge up so I’m never off the grid. Picked up a second one at the career fair a few weeks ago too. You can never have enough juice. It’s kind of disgusting if you think about it. Don’t think for too long you might miss a text from your friend.
The second screen also became quite apparent to me after talking about it in class. I know that I use my phone too much in classes that I do not find quite so entertaining (and even in classes that do keep me entertained). In the beginning, I think I used my phone in class in more boring classes to help me stay awake. However, now I just pull out my phone automatically at random times throughout class. Just looking around at fellow classmates, we can all see how our phones have affected the classroom atmosphere.
People have even tried creating apps, like Pocket Points, to encourage students to set their phones down in class and actually listen to the lectures while earning points toward rewards. I was one of the many students who jumped on this opportunity to earn free food. Here is an article from the Collegian about how Pocket Points was introduced and encouraged by Penn State.
http://www.collegian.psu.edu/news/campus/article_ace147c2-b5a3-11e4-9b1b-3faac58c81b0.html
But that was last spring semester… I have not seen a single person this semester turning on their Pocket Points app. In my opinion, I think it just lost its excitement. Not only have students found other ways around the Pocket Points system (texting via laptops, etc.), but the process of earning points in itself has increased timewise. This is because the more people on Pocket Points in your area at the same time, the quicker you earn more points. Now that many students have lost interest in this app, points are getting even harder to acquire…so what’s the point?
The idea of Pocket Points is a great way, in my opinion, to get students engaged in class again and break down the second screen. Unfortunately, I just think students need more of a reason to set aside their social life than free food.
After we discussed the second screen in class, I too found myself watching others who are immersed in technology. Although each of us are guilty of this in our own way, it was eye-opening to look up and see almost every single person looking down at their phone. While I agree that there are many positives to social media, technology and the internet, our generation is not prepared for the real world due to the accessibility of these resources.
In my experience at Penn State, the freedom to do what you want in class has hurt students more than ever. One of my professors told our class that he knew of multiple circumstances when employers chose to let recently hired students go because they were unable to stay off their phones during a meeting. We are creating a society that can’t separate when it is acceptable or not to check social media. Professors who do not allow technology in class are only trying yo help us prepare for the real world, so that when have a full time job someday, we can go without checking our phone every 15 minutes.
This summer, I had the opportunity to go to Haiti and was without technology for 6 days. The first day I was there, it was difficult for me to realize that I could not use social media or interact with my friends and family. But my second full day there, I forgot about social media and no longer carried my phone around with me. People are capable of not using technology. Many of us have not been in situations where we needed to go without technology. Because our society is headed in such a negative direction—in regard to this topic— we need to have more adults such as parents, professors, and bosses, who are crack down on not using technology. We need to more people to enforce that it is disrespectful to use technology at the dinner table, while a lecture is being given, and that using a cell phone prevents you from performing well at work.