Paper #2 Rough Draft

Facebook Distracts College Students

Heather Brown, sophomore here at Morningside College, says that sometimes in order to get work done she has to disconnect her internet. Her most recent distraction is playing “Happy Aquarium” on Facebook. “I just had a baby fish”, Heather said as she is playing the game while I’m trying to interview her. Not only does facebook distract the user, but it can also hinder the ability for other students to get work done.

Chad Sewick, also a sophomore here at MC, sits in the back of class in his lecture-style classroom during Stats. He has said that if he can see other people’s computers, and see that they are on facebook, it tempts him to surf onto facebook instead of paying attention in class.

“Eww, my tank is dirty”, Heather says as the interview continued. While I steered our conversation away from “Happy Aquarium”, she said that “time flies when you are on facebook. I can just be logging on really quick to check updates, and the next thing I know an hour has passed and I have not done anything productive or even gotten my homework out of my backpack.”

After talking with a few students, and as a college student myself, I realize that there are several other distractions besides facebook, but facebook seems to be the prominent distraction among college students today.

Laura Krengel has managed to stay on top of her homework, and stay away from facebook, she comments. “Even though Farmville is fun, I know my homework needs to get done” she says. If Krengel is going to the library to get work done, she will leave her laptop behind if it is at all possible. Even though hand writing stuff can take longer than typing, if she doesn’t have the internet to distract her, she can still get more work done than if she had taken her laptop with her. Brown also mentioned that since facebook is now available on her blackberry, leaving that behind or turning it off can be very helpful also.

Facebook is a huge distraction for college students, but if students follow a few simple tips from Heather and Laura, they can eliminate the distraction. Leave cell phones, blackberrys, laptops or internet off if at all possible, or leave them behind in your dorm and head to the library.



1 Comment »

  1.   fuglsang Said:

    on October 12, 2009 at 3:58 pm

    This is one of those RARE occasions where including yourself as the reporter kind of works. It lets the reader see how inattentive the subjects are.

    You need to talk to a professor and maybe the dean if possible. Get the other side of the story. Do you know any students who are angry about other students distracting them?

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