People now live on technology

Technology stands as a key part of college life, but it's important to rediscover real human interactions every once in a while.

It's hard not to find something connected to  technology at UCF. Open laptops can easily be seen around campus.

Even more common are cell phones, which are more often heard than spotted. Let's not forget about the iPod drones, students signified by the white cords swinging from their ears.

Facebook used to be a sole college network created just for students. After the incorporation of a more open acceptance policy, it's still hard to find many college students who don't know what "Facebook me" means.

The increasing popularity of Twitter only adds to the Internet time that consumes society. Is it really necessary to have an outlet where you can update the world on what you are doing by the minute?

Security and embarrassing moments add to the negative aspects of these otherwise socially acceptable methods of communication.

In his commencement speech to University of Pennsylvania graduates, Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, Inc. called our generation "the Google and Facebook generation."

Schmidt went on to compare his generation with the current one. He said his generation didn't expose their embarrassing moments.

However, the current college graduate posts their embarrassing moments daily on YouTube and Facebook.

"I am looking forward to watching these for the next thirty to forty years," Schmidt said.
Schmidt makes a valid point. It's not hard to forget the time when it was discovered employers used Facebook to research on future employees.

Even taking content down or deleting it altogether doesn't guarantee its departure. Social networks state that content deletes within 30 days, but this can turn into months or longer.

It doesn't help when celebrities like Ashton Kutcher challenge CNN just to see how many friends they can win over on Twitter in order to find an excuse to donate money to charity.

College students are becoming more dependent on these devices and networks.

Computers and Internet access are required for school and the workplace in order to be efficient students and workers. These requirements are only adding to technology dependency.

Cell phones also seem to be a must in order for people to reach you when they need you. With the high costs of home phones, even more landline users are switching solely to wireless phone services.

About a third of people ages 18 to 24 live in households with only cell phones, according to the Associated Press. This accounts for the majority of college aged students.
All of this constant exposure to necessary, and unnecessary, technology can make it easy to forget that human interactions are important to sane living.  Schmidt supported the idea that students should spend time creating some distance between their techno-savvy lifestyles.

"You need to live for the future and the things you really care about," he said. He encouraged graduates to turn off their computers and phones in order to discover what it means to be human.

In the rush to buy the newest iPhone or try to get a sold-out Wii, students need to take time in between to enjoy the technology-free side of life.

Enjoy the outdoors. Meet a friend face-to-face instead of chatting online. Use snail mail every once in a while instead of hitting the send button to leave a message.

Busy schedules can make actual socialization seem impossible, but putting it off can make it even harder as time passes.

 This makes it even more important to spend some time away from technology, soon.
It helps to turn off that cell phone once in a while. Why worry about missing a call? There's always voicemail.