Addiction to social networking; Issues

Continuously connected to social networks can increase stress and undermine personal relationships.

After banning the use of Facebook, Twitter, instant messaging and other means during one week, the U. Harrisburg, Pa., said the technology had been hiding some traps. "Students realized that social media, especially Facebook and instant messaging, if not used properly, can take over their lives," said Eric Darr, dean of the faculty.

The university, 800 students, decided to impose the ban to see how technology affects the lives of students and faculty. Most students complied with the experiment conducted one week this month and some found that the technology could control their lives.

Darr quoted a student who felt the need to go into Facebook 21 hours a day and blocked the entry of new publications between two and five in the morning to get some sleep. "To me it sounds like addiction," said Darr, blackout drive technology that was applied by blocking social media access to the IP address of the university.

Darr acknowledged that students and teachers who felt the need to feed their addiction to social media could have continued to do so through its advanced mobile phones, but said most had obeyed, and some were pleasantly surprised with what they had discovered. "Most students behaved as smokers who escape after school to smoke," he said. "They wanted to sneak away to look at things on their smartphones," agregó.Pero some of them discovered that they felt less stressed by not having the ability to constantly read the states of their friends on Facebook and see that they had more time to do other things .

Other students saw themselves more willing to meet in person with other students or teachers that are usually only communicated through the media sociales.La student Amanda Zuck said he did not use Facebook much, but at first it was' a little upset "about not being able to use the website.

Zuck wrote in an email that he saw great advantages in the project for her, but added that he had probably helped a friend that she felt addicted to Facebook.El project enabled all members of the university reflect on the manner in which social media affected their lives. "Just stopping and paying attention, we can understand," Darr said. "We can not even be aware of the important role of social media in what we do and how we do," he said.

Harrisburg is the first university that runs an experiment like this, probably not feasible at academic institutions larger and more complex infrastructure, according to Darr.

The project led to protests from some people who sent emails arguing that it was infringing on their freedom of expression, said the study results decano.Aunque still being analyzed, seem to conclude that social media should be used as the old model of interpersonal communication. "Combining personal encounters with relationships through Facebook is probably the right way," said Darr.