Melissa Gasia
Staff Writer
Whether it is connecting with distant friends on Facebook, tweeting about what they heard on the news, or posting on Instagram their outfit of the day, La Verne students are prisoners to the world of social media—even during class time.
In an informal survey on campus, 15 students said they all use social media in their everyday lives. Their answers varied on how long they spent each day from one hour to four hours.
“It’s addicting,” freshman kinesiology major Danica Langaynor said. “You want to check it constantly and see what people are up to all the time.” she said.
Fourteen out of 15 students said they spend most of their time on social media scrolling to look at other people’s affairs or to check on what is happening in the news.
Most of them said that they usually see someone else on their phone or computer scrolling when they are alone or not in social situations.
“Usually when people are alone, it’s kind of probably to pass time because you don’t really know what to do anymore,” sophomore psychology major Caitlin Villegas said.
“People are used to having electronics around now. They don’t really know what to do with themselves so they just use their phone,” she said.
Villegas said this could have a negative effect on the society’s communication skills.
Some of the students said they feel more comfortable sometimes talking to a certain person behind their phone especially when that person is superior to them.
“You kind of lose face-to-face contact with people so you are not used to it anymore as often so people usually just don’t communicate as well when they are actually speaking to someone in person,” Villegas said.
During lectures described as “boring,” students said they notice about 25 to 40 percent of the class are on their phones.
They agreed that social media can easily affect their education although it keeps them entertained when they do not feel like listening.
“Sometimes I think it can be a distraction because people can get addicted to whatever they’re doing on their Instagram feed or Twitter feed and it can be distracting because they’re so many different places you can go and so sometimes it can negatively affect your grades,” sophomore liberal studies major Abby Kramer said.
“It can be a distraction during class because obviously you’re in class to learn and you are there sitting on your social media not paying attention.” she said.
Although the students are aware of the disadvantages, they cannot see living a life without social media anymore.
Social media also has its benefits such as it keeps them entertained, helps them promote themselves, gives them a chance to network, keeps them aware of the current news and lets them stay connected with others.
“I like how you are able to share certain achievements and important things that happen in your life and see how other people’s lives are turning out as well,” sophomore biology major Damon Gomez said.
Melissa Gasia can be reached at melissa.gasia@laverne.edu.
