As I approach the latter half of my years as a college student, I am reaching the time in my life when the real world becomes a reality. I just moved into my first apartment, I’m paying my own bills, and I’m taking on responsibilities that force me to “grow up.” Soon I will join those who have already graduated in the daunting task of finding a job.
While perusing the Internet this morning I came across an article entitled “Are Twitter and Facebook Affecting How We Think?” which caused me to think about how my generation, well, thinks. The article’s thesis, that as the young generation spends more and more time online using social media their core mental processes are actually altered immediately rang true.
Yes, I’m a recent college grad, but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to procrastinate my life away while I eat pizza and watch Jersey Shore. During my undergraduate career, I studied abroad, held two internships, participated in athletics and several student organizations, and then graduated summa cum laude—ahead of schedule. I couldn’t have accomplished that by being lazy. And I’m only one of millions of college students worldwide—I promise I’m not the only one with drive.
February 5, 2010 – 9:55 am
While it’s true college students (and recent graduates) are less likely to pick up the daily newspaper and read it cover to cover like our parents or grandparents did, I don’t think traditional media is “dying” like so many people fear. Instead, it is shifting forms and becoming more accessible by those who consume it.