‘Old school’ doesn’t quite equal ‘better’

Last week students at the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology were submitted to a social media experiment: a week-long self-regulated ban on websites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

Citing data showing increased Facebook use, the school officials who proposed the ban hoped to shed a negative light on the perceived overusage of social media.

Most students at the university had no major complaints about the break; some even welcomed the relief from the pressure to check their Facebook pages every time they logged onto their computers. Rather than feeling crippled by the lack of online networking, the students handled it with a maturity that the officials might have thought they were otherwise incapable of.

Our parents’ generation seems to have a baseless fear that online applications cause lethargy and indifference in today’s youth. For many years, adults have lamented that children are wasting away in front of their computer screens and iPhones, no longer able to sustain relationships without the assistance of technology. They have over-romanticized the so-called “lost art” of mailing a written letter, as if the only way to genuinely communicate with someone far away is through physical handwriting.

The truth is, this constant flow of informational input has given us instant knowledge of universal trends, making us more adaptable to different situations in the future. Facebook might just be a large network that arguably has little measurable value in the workforce, but it gives people the important ability to increase their social capital. Especially in the oversaturated medium of a typical college campus, students can use Facebook to draw attention to any cause or event they want to advertise. More importantly, Facebook allows friends to share content; news articles, music, movies and even personal musings are much more widely distributed among those who would otherwise never think to visit a news website.

And Twitter is a whole different animal. True, many celebrities have advanced its power to bait their rabidly obsessed worshippers, but the real power of Twitter lies in its ability to disseminate information quickly. Rather than being colored by outside sources, Twitter allows politicians, athletes and anyone else to directly communicate with the public.

One of the more justifiable fears involving Internet usage is the rise in obesity it can cause among children. Generations past spent a much larger portion of their free time engaging in outdoor activities that helped keep them fit; video games and social media leave children little incentive to play hopscotch.

This decreased physical activity can be at least partially countered with the fact that today’s youth has a better-developed health education. A constant barrage of information demanding kids to avoid trans fats and cigarettes has resulted in a very health-savvy generation that often has to teach its parents the merits of modern medical information.

Although we might waste some of our “work” time catching up on social media websites, our days are less structured than the rigid schedules of the past. Ultimately, our generation shows that we have a knack for multitasking to an unprecedented degree. This multitasking ability allows us to “waste” more time, but at the same time learn more and produce more.

Gokul Agrawal is a junior majoring in business administration.