Technological Impact and Addiction

Facebook Attachment

1) Identity2) Access3) Processing

Identity Constant connection Interacting with people who you rarely

see Maintaining image The way you keep ties with social groups Accessing information → Tracking friends International relationships

Access A lot of the feeling of connectivity is due

to the fact that society has constant access to these platforms. Everything is mobile now. You can check your facebook from virtually any location. The rising popularity of the smartphone has made communicating and spreading news instantaneous! Because of this, many of us are unaware how often we use this technology. It becomes a daily ritual.

F

Just how useful is technology when it comes to educating our generation?

Processing

Many Facebookers have begun to simultaneously interact in online media while attempting to do other tasks. The problem is this action has become habitual to the point where most people don't realize the amount of time spent completing a task.

As far as social interaction goes individuals are able to stimulate different parts of the brain and enhance the development of various learning styles through the use of technology. This aspect of the education and technology debate is clearly a pro. When students are encouraged to focus on one presentation the outcome may be positive, but when given the freedom of using a laptop during class results can be negative. One article from the website "Finding Dulcinea" delves into the issue of multitaskig...

Some believe that the strategy of multitasking is not something to be idolized because quality is taken away from work. Multitasking may harm a students ability to learn and grow.

Some are able to handle the freedom of web-surfing and Facebooking during classes while others may succumb to the distractions.

One professor shares her belief that if students are AWARE of the effect of multitasking in the classroom, that most would change their habits. Author Josh Fischman states, "it may be that treating students as grown-ups and letting them see for themselves what helps and what hurts them in class...results in students who make smart decisions"

Student Reactions

In the study “The World UNPLUGGED”, a study asked 1,000 students in ten countries to go 24 without media...

“One friend, after reading my Facebook status saying I would be incommunicado for 24 hours, asked me: ‘What possessed you to commit this temporary suicide?’”

“However, being sociable whilst trying to avoid the media was not the hardest part of this challenge. Resisting social networking nearly brought me to my knees and made me beg.”

“I am ashamed to admit that it was Facebook I missed the most. I had never quite realized just how addicted I am to this particular site.”

“How was I going to survive without my daily basics such as my cell phone, my laptop, Facebook and the news?”

It was amazing to me though how easily programmed my fingers were to instantly start typing “f-a-c-e” in the search bar. It’s now muscle memory, or instinctual, to log into Facebook as the first step of Internet browsing.”

QUICK STUDY FINDINGS

-Students’ ‘addiction’ to media may not be clinically diagnosed, but the cravings sure seem real – as does the anxiety and the depression.

-A clear majority in every country admitted outright failure of their efforts to go unplugged.

-Students reported that media – especially their mobile phones – have literally become an extension of themselves. Going without media, therefore, made it seem like they had lost part of themselves.

-Many students, from all continents, literally couldn’t imagine how to fill up their empty hours without media.

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