The ever digital student body

[geekerati]

The ever digital student body

2/13/2005 7:29:53 PM, by Ken "Caesar" Fisher

When I started college in the early 90s, I lived in a dorm. A few things were clear to me after being there for a week. First, in our block of 16 students, my Zeos 486 DX2/66 ruled the roost. No one came close to it, but then again, not everyone even had a computer. There was a decrepit old Macintosh at one end, and an IBM PC at the other that took about two minutes to load Windows. There was a Packard Bell on the floor as well, but unsurprisingly it often suffered from problems. In terms of other electronics, about half of the rooms had TVs, and two of us had something more than a boombox for audio. Good times.

These days on the other end of the spectrum where I'm teaching undergrads, it's a different world. Electronics have proliferated and come to dominate so much of student life that I have to wonder if the whole experience hasn't shifted in a new direction. Now, I have to admit, seeing all of these Harvard undergrads running around with their endless doodads and rather fancy laptops (Lapzilla is not an uncommon sight), I just assumed that it was part of the Ivy League effect, where the well-off have a lot of stuff, and the rest of the students try to look like they're well-off. Well, thanks to a post at Slashdot, I stumbled across some interesting stuff. First up, there's this Washington Post article addressing students and cell phones.


The proliferation of cell phones alone is leading some schools to shut down their land-line services for residences (that makes me nervous for 911 reasons, but maybe that's just me), and many others are considering it. While five years ago a third of students had cell phones, now more than 90% have them, and they don't feel that they have any need for land-lines. One interesting aspect of this is that the colleges and universities are now losing money on what was once a goldmine.

Five years ago, [American University] made hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on long-distance service, said Carl Whitman, executive director of the Office of Information Technology. Last semester, the school made $1,109. The money that colleges charged students helped pay for their decades-old phone systems; now they can't even get some parts when things break, said Julie E. Weber, AU's executive director of housing and dining programs.

The other thing that caught my eye was a set of stats lifted from Harris Interactive. In a poll of some 4,600 college students taken in late 2003 and published last year, a clear picture emerges of a highly accessorized student body.

In addition to the basics – the majority of college students (90%) own a computer, and two-thirds (65%) of those students have broadband connection; among students, 62% own a stereo, a cell phone (77%), a printer (77%), a television (84%) and a calculator (86%)-they rely on an abundance of gadgets to access information, communicate with friends, and keep themselves entertained. Three-quarters of students (74%) own a DVD player and just over half (55%) own a gaming system. More than six in ten 18 to 24 year old college students use their cell phone for text messaging (62%) and playing games (70%), and 41% of students with cell phones can access the Internet through their mobile phone.

Ah, spoiled college punks, you might say. The same report indicated that 75% of students are employed, and earn on average $645 per month, adding that on top of parental contributions averaging $154 per month. Unfortunately, the report doesn't say if that's a marked increase from the past or not. Three out of four seems higher than in my day, but as a college kid that worked through school, perhaps it just seemed like everyone else was off having a good time.

Arstechnica

[cvrk3]

excellant piece! The article identifies the the cause and the effect of the same is information overload! you have another opportunity here is to make this information available at the right time and at the right place. This is what google is planning!
in this internet age we have more responsbility- to avoid spreading of false information. this will be social challenge we will be facing!!