It’s Saturday night and you’re texting your friends asking if they want to go to the movies later. As you wait patiently for their responses, you check Facebook, where two of your friends sent messages confirming plans for the night. Five minutes later, another friend responds with a text saying tonight doesn’t work.
Many college students utilize technology, such as Facebook, MySpace and text messaging as a means for communication. However, there is a growing concern that face-to-face communication among students is suffering because of it.
Facebook (www.thefacebook.com) launched in 2004, allowing college students to develop a personal profile, exchange messages and meet and stay in contact with friends.
“I check Facebook twice a day and between the Web site and telephone I keep in touch with friends,” Senior Media production major Telisha Taylor said.
Senior Laura Brennan uses Facebook for similar reasons.
“Most of my friends live back in Minnesota, so I can’t really see them,” she said. “I’m glad I have technology so I can talk to them.”
Statistics gathered by Consumer Lab, an independent testing Web site, reported that approximately 43 percent of college students spend roughly 10 hours per week on the Internet.
Time exhausted on the Internet, however, is time that some consider to be misused, causing face-to-face communication to suffer.
This is a primary concern of Associated Press writer Martha Irvine. She wrote an article profiling college students whose face-to-face contact suffered due to technology and indivduals who attempted to alleviate these problems.
Silvia Rodriguez, a junior international business major, agreed with the article.
“Most people prefer using technology over talking face-to-face,” she said. “If you are spending too much time using technology, you are missing out on life.”
Senior broadcast journalism major Marissa Criscitelli disagreed.
“I prefer to talk face-to-face because I’m more energetic and talkative in person. I think a lot of people our age are spending way too much time on the Internet communicating than keeping up with face-to-face [communication].”
Whether our own face-to-face communication is suffering seems to be different for each person.
