Cell Phones

Cell phones are probably one of the greatest technologies ever invented.  Back in the day, the only way of communication was with a land phone. I could not imagine what it would be like if I were to get stranded on the side of the road with car trouble, and have no way to contact someone for help like many did back then. These days we are lucky. We have the convience of the cell phone. So whenever there is an emergency all we have to do is grabbed our cells and dial or even TEXT away! When cell phones were invented this was the goal they had in mind, but today cell phones have become a major distraction for college students.

Walk into any college class and you will see that almost every student has their cell phone on their desk. A select few will not distract themselves with the phone the whole class period, but the majority—including me—is constantly doing something on their phone. Like most students, I have a smartphone which is basically a mini-computer that is easier to hide from teachers. When I have my phone out during a class, I will constantly check my phone, get on facebook, scope out twitter, or look for the new shoes I want on the internet. If your phone is able to do all this, how is it not a distraction! Cell phones also cause a distraction during study time. What can we do? Every student needs to have a cell phone to stay in contact with family and friends far away. Cell phones are great to have, but when is the technology becoming to distractive?

Do you get distracted by cell phones in class? How often do you check  your phone during studying or class?  Tell me how you feel about cell phones!

Facebook

There is just so much you can do on Facebook.  Stalking is probably where most of my time is spent, whether it be stalking my high school friends, my college friends, or even completely random people I'm not even friends with, if their profile's not on private (most annoying stalk-block EVER).  I also love looking at pictures in real life, so being able to do it online and have so much to look at keep me entertained for hours.  It is also really easy to get in touch with someone you need to talk to using Facebook Chat, messaging, or writing on someone's wall.  Facebook is also a good way to get in touch with old friends and classmates.

Ever since I was in high school, everything has revolved around Facebook.  After any social gathering, I would spend hours and hours looking at pictures people posted, even my own.  I always thought of Facebook as a good way to communicate with people more easily than by phone, especially now that there's Facebook Chat.  Back then, Facebook was a "good" distraction.

Facebook probably seemed like a "good" distraction because my high school had it blocked from the server so we were not allowed to use it during school.  This prevented us from Facebooking during class and spending all of our time on it; however, college is a completely different story.

I don't know about everyone else, but Facebook is probably my biggest distraction in college.  Whenever I'm bored and want to take a break from the torturous five whole minutes of studying I've done, I check my Facebook.  Of course, checking my Facebook for a quick second usually ends up with me Facebook stalking for thirty minutes, at the very least.  Why is it that I do this?  I know I'm not the only one, but I still feel like I should be able to stay away from my Facebook for a longer period of time.  It should probably be a little easier for me to sign off, especially when it's late at night and there's absolutely nothing new that pops up on my newsfeed; however, I do anything but log off.  I will literally sit there clicking refresh or just stalk my own pictures over and over again in order to keep from studying.  Similarly, I spend so much time on Facebook in class.  It's the time that so many people are online because they're doing the exact same thing as me, which is not paying attention in class.  I can easily say that Facebook is my biggest distraction when it comes to schoolwork and paying attention in class.

To prove my point, I'm actually writing this blog about Facebook during one of my classes. Oops?

Let me know if you feel the same way about the distractions of Facebook!

Clemson Distractions

This picture was taken in Cooper Library. This girl was not only on facebook, but if you notice in her hand is her cell phone. At the library, studying is supposed to occur. Was she taking just taking a study break or was she clicking back and forth between her assignment and facebook, while waiting for an important text from her best friend? Are your study habits similar to hers? Do you click back and forth between a social networking site and websites that pertain to school?

This photo was taken during a large chemistry class. In this photo, this girl has her calculator and her cell phone beside each other. Perhaps in between her doing chemical equations, she texted a few of her friends back, or got on facebook or twitter. This picture is a good of example how large of a distraction cell phones alone. Which is more important during class, her cell phone or her calculator?

This photo was also taken during a large class. Notice that there are a lot of electronic devices near this student, but amongst the calculator, and iclicker are her cell phone and laptop, which aren't needed in this class. She is texting or on some sort of social networking site during class, which means her focus is clearly not on the professor's lecture. How often do you have your cell phone out during class? Or how many times do you quickly open your laptop to momentarily check facebook? Does your desk look like this student's?

Twitter: Following or Stalking?

Twitter is a phenomenon that has taken over the entire world.  It’s similar to Facebook “statuses”.  People post what they’re doing, what’s on they’re mind, etc.  But is twitter really a way to express your thoughts and what your doing, or just a way to stalk people and keep tabs on them constantly?  Because of its popularity, Twitter is now used by celebrities, businesses, brands and everything in between to advertise their products or new shows or movies.  Twitter is a way to follow your favorite celebrity, and know their every move.  When you think about it, it’s kind of creepy to be keeping tabs on people, let alone people you’ve never even met.  But something about this process is what makes Twitter so addicting, being able to see in to the glamorous lives of those we envy, while still keeping up with our friends from home. 

Do you have a Twitter?  If not what do you think of Twitter, and why don’t you have one?  Tell us what you think!!

Inside the Facebook Addiction

Uploaded from YouTube, this ABC news report takes another step inside the real life of Facebook, and the creator Mark Zuckerberg. We found this video relevant to our project because it talks about how not just Americans, but people all over the world intrigued by this phenomenon. One example they talked about was how there are now more people on Facebook than the total population of The United States, Japan, and Germany combined.

As much as we all love Facebook and the different media distractions, while doing this project we have started wondering, is it really necessary? Are these social networks really keeping our distant friendships closer or is it just an excuse to take a break from reality?

Tell us what you think!!

Distractions Survey

How many hours a day do you spend on a social network? (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

0                                                         0

1-2                                                      10

3-4                                                      10

5+                                                       3

How often do you text in class?

Never                                                   0

Sometimes                                           13

All The Time                                         10

Do you feel like social networks or texting are distractions when you’re trying to get things done?

Yes                                                      22

No                                                       1

Do you find that when you're studying you have your computer open next to you with Facebook or Twitter up?

Yes                                                      20

No                                                       3

Do you constantly check your phone while you’re studying or doing homework? 

Yes                                                      21

No                                                       2

Do you get distracted by other people using Facebook or Twitter in class?

Yes                                                      12

No                                                       11

Our Main Goal

When brainstorming topics for the English 103 Multimedia Project, it was hard to focus and come up with possible ideas for the project because of all the social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, etc) up on our  computer screens. After contemplating possible ideas, we came to the decision that we were the prime examples of what our project should be about - Media Distractions for College Students. This includes a wide variety of distractions, such as cell phones and the numerous social networking sites.

Our goal in this project is to make college students more aware of the time they actually spend using these websites instead of being productive with schoolwork. This is especially a serious issue in college campuses because students seem to spend half of their time in class or in the library, distracted.

We are using several different techniques to explain the issue at hand. We have incorporated a survey, numerous pictures, and a short time lapse video that give clearer meaning to our topic. Of course we all love these sites and staying in touch with our friends, but we need to learn where to draw the line.
    
Feel free to comment on any of these and tell us how you feel about the issue!