What would you do if you were told that you would have to give up all access to your social media networks? No Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or MySpace, plus no texting. Would you have anxiety attacks? Feel uncomfortable having to rely on face to face interactions exclusively? Get frustrated at not being able to communicate with friends instantly from anywhere you are?
Social Media Blackout Imposed
Last month, one Pennsylvania University did just that. Harrisburg University of Science and Technology made news with the news there would be a five day social media blackout which included both faculty and students. The University blocked the ability to connect to 10 social media sites including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Bebo, Orkut, H15, or Plurk as well as all texting outlets for all students, faculty and staff on campus. The University did recognize that those who were truly intent on using various internet services could still do so through smart phones, hot spots, and home networks, so the experiment wasn’t perfect. In fact, faculty stated that most students admitted to following the ban on campus but eating lunch and taking breaks at places that had free Wi-Fi (Schaffhauser, 2011).
According to Eric Darr, Executive Vice President and Provost of the University, the purpose of the experience, which had been also carried out the year before, was to inspire student and staff to think about technology that appears to be growing at an astronomical pace and consider what constitutes positive and appropriate use of such technology and what defines abusive use what the internet has to offer, especially regarding social media. Users were also encouraged to consider how social media and the internet influences their lives and work roles in both positive and negative ways. The intent was not to suggest such technology was good or bad but that it could become either depending on the user and their purpose for using it.
Some senior faculty stated that the blackout was easier this year than during the previous year, yet several stated they felt like there were a number of things they would normally be doing at different times of the day leaving them with periods of time they felt at a loss regarding what to do instead. They reported they had a difficult time figuring out how to fill the extra time and didn’t consider the possibility of work related tasks, reading or meeting with students since those were “dedicated times” for social media use.
Media Blackout 2010
Results from the 2010 experiment indicated that the majority of students, faculty and staff used social media and texted other instead of calling or emailing. Many students and a number of faculty reported they spent from 11 – 20 hours a day using social media sites. This likely explains the cheating – not just because it was possible to do so, but because a number of individuals felt they “needed” their social media access and couldn’t imagine going completely without it for 5 full days.
Darr reported that he was disturbed by last years findings that a number of faculty reported engaged in social media activities more than 20 hours a day which, he asserted, would have to interfere not just with work responsibilities as well as life responsibilities making him wonder just how serious the impact in such cases might be.
According to Troop (2010), results from last year’s experiment indicated that at the beginning of the blackout, 5 percent strongly disapproved of it, 32 percent disapproved, 40 percent were neutral, and 23 percent approved, while a week later responses weren’t quite as negative with 16 percent still disapproving, 42 percent being neutral, and 42 percent approving of the activity.
Despite the mixed opinions from those who participated, Darr considered the experiment a success. He pointed out a several important discoveries stating, “Students became aware of being stressed out about checking their status continually. They weren’t even aware that they were stressed. They had been losing sleep over feeling the need to stay connected, thinking, ‘I’m a college student; that’s what we’re supposed to do.’ Turns out, it wasn’t the schoolwork [causing the stress], it was the addiction to staying connected. Many students said they were better able to concentrate on getting their work done and that they could sit around the university and not feel overwhelmed,” (Barnard, 2010).
Media Blackout 2011
This year, despite similar “cheating” by plugging into internet sights and texting when able to gain access during the day and when at home as last year by all participants, many still were not pleased with being forced to take part in the activity. According to an intern in the Universities Information and Technology Department, Jason Hyers who was on the front lines responding to interview requests from major networks and newspapers, as well as being the first person students approached regarding the blackout, while the experiment had been conducted the previous year it received far more attention this year. Those outside the University simply couldn’t grasp how anyone, much less an entire University, could live without such technology for 5 full days.
Mr. Hyers mentioned that this year it actually was more of a “Brown Out”, as those involved were better prepared this year with better ways to get around the ban, feeling if they just cut back on social media usage it was still in the spirit of the activity. He stated the most frequent response to the blackout from the students was “whining”. At one point Mr. Hayes stated annoyed students actually invoked the Bill of Rights with a campus wide meeting held to discuss the right to free speech. Mr. Hyers stated they apparently didn’t understand that the University’s network was private and they could do as they wanted with it, including shutting it down. He further added there appeared to be less tolerance for the experiment this year (Troop, 2011).
Final Thoughts
While an inspired idea with an admirable purpose, the social media blackout at Harrisburg University ultimately didn’t provide the information desired. While the students may have felt inconvenienced being forced to find other avenues to connect, they knew that they could find a way to do so even if it meant leaving campus and for those with a smart phone it was even easier. So no one ever truly experienced the complete inability to access these sites. While there may have been some students and staff who temporarily decreased their internet usage for a few months they ultimately resumed their pre-blackout rates of accessing social media sites.
In today’s world, it would be difficult if not impossible to allow individuals to live their normal lives while ensuring they were completely unable to access the internet or texting services. The development of new Internet technology is aimed at increased accessibility not discovering ways to impose a blackout and each generation born in the internet era is increasingly savvy at learning how to use this technology and access it under just about any condition, no matter how quickly it changes. Yet the question of how it is impacting on the way we live our lives, interact with others, and conduct ourselves while working, especially with more individuals working from home, is important and needs to be further investigated as it could be resulting in negative outcomes leading to isolation, poorer health and a decreased quality of life, despite the rising addiction to such technology.
Sources
- Barnard, S., (2010). No Facebook for a Week Experiment: “It Worked!” Mind/Shift: How We Will Learn?
- Schaffhauser, D., (2011). Harrisburg U Suffers Withdrawal of Social Media. Campus Technology. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
- Troop, D., (2010). Opinions Mellow on Social-Media Blackout at Harrisburg U. Wired Campus. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
- Troop D., (2011). Harrisburg U.'s Social-Media Blackout Is More of a Brownout. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
Join the Conversation