The first thing Michelle Holmberg ’08 does in the morning, and the last thing she does at night, is log into her Facebook account to ensure that she is completely up to date on all the latest happenings.
Although the popularity of social networking Web sites such as Facebook and Myspace has skyrocketed, the effects on the social and academic lives of college students like Holmberg may not be known for years.
Many students are claiming that the use of these sites are affecting students’ academic performances by distracting students from their school work.
“The internet is a mental playground for most college students,” said Caitlin Rose ’08. “Time that could be used finishing up that paper that’s due in two weeks is usually used surfing the internet, or on other sources of entertainment, namely Facebook and Myspace.”
“I feel if I didn’t have the Internet, I would probably be an A student. It’s a distraction to my life and I love it,” said AJ Maucieri ’08.
Rather than reading a newspaper or studying for a quiz, students say they spend their time checking to see if anyone has updated their photos, if the cute boy in their English class is single or if they have any new “friend requests”.
“I think it is important to point out that social networking sites, like Facebook or Myspace, don’t negatively affect a student’s performance. Students themselves do that,” said Dr. David Gudelunas of the department of communication. “We shouldn’t blame the technology; we should instead blame an individual user’s ability to effectively use the technology.”
Even without these sites, procrastination will always be a factor in the lives of college students.
“I think the Internet allows us to be lazy, to be mindless. It’s too easy to sit around online wasting time,” said Serik Slobodskoy ’08.
These sites may also jeopardize their privacy. Although there are privacy settings, this does not mean that students utilize them or are even aware they exist, according to Harvey Jones and Jose Hiram Soltren in their paper, “Facebook Threats to Privacy,” published in 2005 at MIT.
“It is important that we all be media literate enough to understand how to manage issues like privacy, disclosure and norms of interaction in online environments just as we have to learn these lessons in the offline world,” said Gudelunas. “Just as I don’t walk around with my phone number tattooed on my forehead.”
Businesses and colleges have begun utilizing these social networking sites for further reference about future employees and students.
“I would put money on a political candidate, probably 20 years from now, getting in hot water on account of something posted on Facebook,” said Steve Jones, a communications professor at the University of Illinois in an interview with The Boston Globe.
Social networking Web sites have also changed the way students socially interact. These sites allow students to avoid actual face-to-face contact. Constantly relying on a Web site can be crippling to a person’s social skills.
“I think the Internet and Facebook are essentially taking away from us socially. People hide behind their computer screens and think it can replace real life,” said Slobodskoy.
Alessandra Barbalaco ’07 referred to Facebook as a “cop out”, adding that it creates false relationships between people. “You can be someone’s ‘friend’ on Facebook or Myspace, but when you pass them on your walk to class they don’t even acknowledge you,” she said.
Due to the recent loss of Internet connection in the townhouses, many residents admitted that they were more social than usual. Without access to these Web sites, students were forced to interact with their friends without the barrier of a computer screen.
“I actually talked to my roommates, called home caught up with people actually using my voice,” said Rose. She also admitted to getting her homework done much faster without the distraction.
Students say even though they are aware of the negative affects of these social networking Web sites, their overwhelming popularity ensures that they are here to stay.
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