DUNLEVY: Taking breaks from technology is crucial
Making one's life easier by utilizing some technological development, perhaps a new gadget or a cool new program, is a tremendously satisfying thing.
It is wonderfully exciting to expedite an annoying process — to automate something right from a cell phone, to have access to something that once took days or weeks to process right away. In spite of this, over-reliance on digital technology is a dangerous habit and a threat that is relatively unique to the students of today.
As with any change, there are potential harms that come along with the benefits, abundant though they may be. It is important, not just as scholars but as people, that students develop an awareness of the patterns they have implemented into their lifestyles, and evaluate them in order to make positive changes, changes that may manifest both personally and academically.
One common issue is over-attachment to digital correspondences. Even without touching social media and the complexities that arise in that sphere, there has never before been a point that people are so reachable by so many people at virtually all times.
The common mindset of the time dictates that it would be absolutely dreadful to spend a day without a cell phone, or to keep it turned off and away through most the day. Some might note that the circumstances of their lives necessitate this constant communication — such is exactly my point.
There is an expectation regarding ease of communication that has never existed before, and it is a burden. Responding to messages and being open to texts, emails and whatever else at all times is a stressful thing — there is no time to sit back and dedicate oneself wholly to relaxation, and likewise no time to focus in and dedicate oneself wholly to a particular task.
This is a stressful way to live, and distractions (even if they are important distractions) intrude upon the task at hand. There are professors who demand that students refrain from cell phone use in class, and this is sometimes looked upon as a burden — indeed, perhaps it is — but a cell phone does represent a very real distraction during this period.
It would be folly to presume that prior to the digital age, there was no way to not pay attention during class, and it is not as though skipping class is a modern development. But now the delineation between distraction and necessity has become blurred and hazy to an extent not before seen.
I would advise, as a challenge of one's own willpower, spending a couple with one's cell phone nestled comfortably at home.
At first, it may seem difficult, but generally, few messages require such an urgency that they cannot wait a few hours. Society got along well enough for a very long time before this new-found challenge to a healthy work-life balance arose, and there is no reason things particularly need to be this way now.
After a couple of days, evaluate the changes resulting from diminished attachment to a phone — depending upon the role it played prior to this little experiment, the way things turn out could be helpful in evaluating healthy personal choices. At the very least, it could make for an interesting consideration.
The relationship between digital development and academics takes a particularly interesting turn when one considers the role that modern devices often now play in learning itself. Many students, in spite of the numerous studies claiming diminished retention of knowledge, are happy to continue taking notes during class on a laptop in lieu of the traditional reliance upon pen and paper.
Online classes and hybrid classes, heavily centered online, have emerged and offer an alternative to the traditional lecture format. The exceptional convenience of these classes is difficult to overstate.
For non-traditional students, for those who have difficult work schedules, particular personal obligations or even issues pertaining to transportation, being able to work at one's own pace, at one's own convenience and virtually anywhere is a tremendous boon.
Online classes make it much easier for many more people to pursue education, simply put. Conversely though, there is a certain emotional, shared process to learning. A good lecture is not a mere recitation of the slides and some notes from the textbook, but consists of dynamic mutual connections between the students and the professor.
Online classes are certainly well and good, but even when utilizing webcams and voice chat, the benefits of the deeply human nuances of a good lecture cannot be emulated.
Online classes are a wonderful tool, and make logistic management much easier, but I would advise students who are fortunate enough to have physical lectures available to them to take advantage of the resources at hand — there are few opportunities in life to dedicate oneself wholly to learning, and it would be tragic to squander such an opportunity.
Ash C. Dunlevy is a School of Environmental and Biological Sciences junior majoring in plant science, agriculture and food systems. His column, "Tempus Fugit," runs on alternate Mondays.
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