According to Shaibany, who wrote “Addiction to social media or drugs: Which is the bigger evil for youth?”, many of today’s youth who use
social media are revealed to have the same symptoms as those who are addicted
to drugs: irritability, uncommunicative, and disoriented from reality. He
deems that these symptoms are just the beginning of what could be the start of
a new epidemic in today’s society: “internet addiction”. Some common
associations with the term addiction could be related to food and drugs, but in
relation to media, the Internet could be deemed as a new form of addiction that
can also be a danger to this generation of college students. But could one be
absolutely entrenched in technology, perhaps to the point when it becomes a
hindrance to their well-being? In my opinion, one can be heavily reliant on the
use of media, however, I don’t agree with the fact that one could be “addicted”
to it. The difference between addiction and reliance and the fact that
addiction could be detrimental to someone’s life.
In my
daily life, I rely on media to keep me updated on information; whether it
pertains to my classes or to my social life, digital media is something that I
cannot live without. For example, throughout my day, I check my e-mail to see
if any of my professors sent any important announcements. In addition, I check
Facebook and Twitter after class time to socialize with my friends and family.
At face-value, I could be perceived as an individual who is addicted to digital
media, however I believe I am not. The most important thing I stress is the
fact that I don’t let the internet harm my life; indeed it does create a
distraction sometimes, but I still have control over my usage by turning it off
and putting it away. In the end, I believe I’m heavily reliant and dependent on
my internet use, whether leisure or educational purposes, but I, along with
many other college students, have enough sovereignty in our minds to know
whether technology and media becomes helpful or hurtful in our lives.
In
order to prohibit extreme detrimental habits of using digital media in class,
perhaps professors could utilize technology in a way that keeps the student’s
attention towards class related content. One idea may be the use of the program
Nearpod, which is a program that delivers real-time lesson presentations to a
student’s mobile device. Students ultimately use technology, but in a way that
relates to the class and not their social life, hopefully keeping them
attentive towards a lesson and not on Facebook. It’s possible that our devices could
be helpful in class, but only if we use it in a way in which our minds are
focused on something school related, even if it’s for an hour lecture.
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