Correction In our April 2011 issue’s “Food for Thought ends participation in One City, One Book,” it was written that “Hundreds of people had bought tickets” for One City, One Book 2010. However, tickets were not sold for money, there were “bought” with donations to the food bank and attendance at book discussions. LareDOS regrets the error.
From the Editor’s Desk
The technological addiction By CRISTINA HERRERA LareDOS Staff
María Eugenia Guerra/LareDOS
O Well fracking topic of round table discussion Well fracking topic of round table discussion José Ceballos, representing the American Natural Gas Association, accountant Jeff Jones, Alyssa Beguin of the Texas Drought Project, and Tricia Cortez, assistant executive director of the Río Grande International Study Center (RGISC) are pictured at a recent round table discussion on the impact of the fracking of oil and natural gas wells in the Eagle Ford Shale play in northern Webb County and in 10 contiguous counties north and east of Laredo. The meeting was hosted by RGISC to gather information on the vast quantity of Carrizo Wilcox Aquifer water being used per well completion — about 4,000 to 6,000 gallons.
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| L a r e DO S | M AY 2011
n this day I am more connected to the outside world than I’ve ever been before. Even as a naturally introverted person, I am no stranger to what is going on out in the world and in my community because I own a smart phone, a laptop, and a television. All these technologies make it difficult for the technologically connected world and me to tune out the noise. Humankind can add another addiction to the growing list: technology. I fully enjoy the conveniences of technology, and I appreciate the vast array of information available to the masses. So maybe I check my phone every 10 minutes and refresh my Facebook feed because I’m bored — so what? We’ve convinced ourselves as a society that the increase in technology use has fueled productivity, but when I started seeing reports about technology addiction and low work productivity due to Facebook, I became curious about my own tech habits. I also started paying close attention to others who couldn’t keep their phones in their pockets for more than 10 minutes. I recently sat in on a high school class and observed what the students were doing while the teacher was giving her lecture. The student in the first row, sitting right next to where the teacher was lecturing, had tiny ear buds blaring music that could be heard in the whole classroom. When she asked him to take out the ear buds, the student replied, “Why? I’m bored” I spotted at least five students who were texting or checking social networking sites on their smart phones, and one student even answered her phone during class. This kept happening amongst most of the classroom until an hour and half later, when the bell rang. “Every… single… day,” the teacher told me in a strained tone. With the increased use of smart
phones, many students are not getting anything worthwhile completed during their classes. While technology can act as a aid to education, its use during class time also interferes with learning. Ever since the rise of social networking sites, the media has published articles about study after study that shows social networking sites have led to lower productivity in the workplace. According to a 2010 Nielsen Three Screen report, 44 percent of online videos are viewed at the workplace now. Our technological addiction is not just hurting children in school, but it is also hurting the productivity of the working person who is bored at their desk. Another anecdote: I took a course called “Human Sexuality” during my last semester in college. The professor for this course had rule that no laptops would be allowed for note taking. He also said that if he saw someone texting on a cell phone, he would take the phone away until the end of the class. I would eventually witness firsthand the embarrassing and often humorous consequences of not following the rules. During the semester, he physically closed three laptops and confiscated countless cell phones. He would often stop his lecture and stare at a people who were texting. They usually hid the phone under their desk so the professor wouldn’t notice, but what they were doing was usually obvious. These students were oblivious until they finished and realized the whole class was staring at them. Continued on page 144 4
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