Althouse: 67% of college students can't go more than an hour without using some digital device.

May 24, 2012

67% of college students can't go more than an hour without using some digital device.

And 40% can't go more than 10 minutes.

31 comments:

KCFleming said...: That's just really stup....

Oh.; 5/24/12, 7:37 AM
Matt Sablan said...: Interesting.

-- Posted from my mobile device.; 5/24/12, 7:42 AM
Wince said...: In my day, we didn't have those new-fangled iPhones and iPads -- that "digital device" was our genitalia.

And we liked it!; 5/24/12, 7:47 AM
KCFleming said...: Must be hell to wake up every hour to tweet.

They need an internet urologist.; 5/24/12, 7:48 AM
Libertarian Advocate said...: Digital device induced ADHD. Will Obamacare cover it?; 5/24/12, 7:50 AM
Paddy O said...: This is a big reason why I don't own a smartphone.

I want to have long stretches where I can't check up on the digital world. Gives me space to check into the physical world better.; 5/24/12, 7:59 AM
Michael Haz said...: Interesting topic this morning, as my management team is having a meeting tomorrow regarding the possible firing of several employees whose continuous use of their cell phones for texting, emails, games and personal (non-emergency) phone calls has impaired their ability to do actual work.

Each one has been warned and counseled about this three times and seems unwilling to adapt to the requirements of the job.; 5/24/12, 8:10 AM
Scott M said...: @Michael

Dovetailing with that is Illinois just had to pass a law that prevents employers from demanding username/passwords to their social media sites. I simply don't get the thinking behind this.

I have never worked at a place that prohibits internet use, but I used to work with a warehouse company that had severe restrictions on what types of websites could be accessed on their computers. Employees there were strictly forbidden from using their cell phones at their desks.; 5/24/12, 8:16 AM
Sorun said...: I'm most productive on an airplane. If I could afford it, I'd fly to Singapore and back just to get some quality work done.; 5/24/12, 8:23 AM
Scott M said...: I'm most productive on an airplane.

!!Ditto!! If I'm in a situation where I've got no access to internet, I actually get a compulsion to find some blank paper and a pen.; 5/24/12, 8:26 AM
Bryan C said...: 40% can't go more than 10 minutes? Dang. College kids really are out of shape these days.; 5/24/12, 8:36 AM
Joe said...: The fact that college students eat and sleep and do other things without digital devices, I suspect this study is made up bullshit by the sponsor; a distributor or eBooks. It's part of the campaign to reinforce that they are just as hip as their potential customers.; 5/24/12, 8:42 AM
Robert Cook said...: Pshaw! Kids these days!; 5/24/12, 8:43 AM
TosaGuy said...: Invest in hearing aids and thumb surgery.; 5/24/12, 8:47 AM
bagoh20 said...: I was in the "wilderness" for 3 days last week with no computers or cell access. I didn't even notice. It's about being busy. Young people have few interests that are not serviced through electronics. That's unfortunate.

Modern electronics are amazing, but it really is all just one thing, and moderns need to get out a little, and experience the world with their other senses.

Imagine how the young today will be out of touch with their children's news stuff some day. Mind boggling. What will it be?

Back in the 60's, our imagination of the future was pretty far off from the eventual reality. It turned out more intimate and small. In a way, we have vastly underachieved and disappointed ourselves. Does anyone see why? I say fear - a religious attachment to safety, health and longevity, which led to over regulation and cost that stifled big ideas coming to fruition. We started watching our feet as we run. We put Mom above Dad.; 5/24/12, 9:02 AM
Scott M said...: Back in the 60's, our imagination of the future was pretty far off from the eventual reality. It turned out more intimate and small. In a way, we have vastly underachieved and disappointed ourselves.

You should check out Dan Simmons' author website. He does a sort of tongue in cheek "What's Next" on various topics, but down near the bottom, there's a transtemporal phone call between himself in 1969 and his current self about the U.S. space program.

It's as hysterical as it is sad.; 5/24/12, 9:07 AM
harrogate said...: Social media in all its forms is the joygasmic realization of soft totalitarianism. It may be too late to plug out. I seriously doubt my ability to plug out, and most people I know think I am a digital-comm Luddite.; 5/24/12, 9:21 AM
Scott M said...: Social media in all its forms is the joygasmic realization of soft totalitarianism.

How?; 5/24/12, 9:23 AM
bagoh20 said...: Thanks Scott. Yea, that is even sadder when you take the time to think about how weak our accomplishments turned out. The simple facts are pathetically funny.

I don't know what we have accomplished in half a century that would impress my 1960's self. The best stuff would elicit something like: "Oh really? That's nice,... I guess."; 5/24/12, 9:25 AM
bagoh20 said...: I like this from Scott's link of a guy talking to his 1969 self:

"1969DS: So you’re saying that cyberspace is half God, half brothel?

2012DS: That about covers it."; 5/24/12, 9:27 AM
Scott M said...: I like this from Scott's link of a guy talking to his 1969 self:

We think too much alike. I actually sent Dan an email about that line, I liked it so much.; 5/24/12, 9:29 AM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: What this country needs is a good nuclear electromagnetic pulse.; 5/24/12, 9:36 AM
Scott M said...: What this country needs is a good nuclear electromagnetic pulse.

Don't even joke about that. Ever actually been to a third world country?; 5/24/12, 9:38 AM
edutcher said...: From what I've seen of some undergrads, that's just about right.; 5/24/12, 9:40 AM
harrogate said...: Scott M,

Formally the definition of totalitarianism involves, less the imposition of a law or laws we do not like (although that may be a big part of it), than the issue of surveillance. This is why some scholars and historians have suggested that Stalin and Hitler, each in their own way and from different ideological bases, brought to bear the first totalitarian states. The line between one's interior world and public domain was perpetually under seige in both states, with media propaganda proving a far more powerful weapon in this regard than any gun or army could ever pose. Orwell, of course, worried about that a lot.

With social media, we edge towards a condition in which all watch all--in which all SHARE with all, and freely. The difficulty of resisting is immense because of social pressure and the promises of joy and community and many other values that we hold dear. But in the end, we risk obliterating utterly, the line between public and private.

Zuckerberg declared "Privacy" as a notion to be archaic. I think he knew what he was talking about and I do not think this is at all healthy.; 5/24/12, 9:47 AM
KLDAVIS said...: Can't? Or, won't?; 5/24/12, 10:17 AM
Jon Lanctot said...: When I read that--as a 24-year-old college grad--I immediately thought: "Oh, I could go two hours easy just reading." On my Kindle. Whoops!; 5/24/12, 10:43 AM
David said...: They can go an entire semester at a time without thinking though.; 5/24/12, 10:55 AM
John said...: Wait, do they mean "can't," or do they mean "won't"?; 5/24/12, 11:13 AM
roesch/voltaire said...: Probably the same applies to older bloggers- so what is the point?; 5/24/12, 12:13 PM
Palladian said...: Since the Neolithic days, most humans can't go more than 10 minutes without using a tool! A troubling trend!; 5/24/12, 1:08 PM