The Voice - Student Newspaper

Majority of students can't face life without a cellphone

Students at Glendale Community College (GCC) are very technologically savvy these days.

However, can this savvy attitude be construed as borderline addictive when applied specifically to cell phones and iPods? Most students think so.

In a survey of 10 randomly selected GCC students, 7 considered themselves dependent on their cell phone or iPod. Are GCC students plugged into technology and tuned out of reality?

Out of the 10 surveyed, 7 admitted to texting during a second in-person conversation, and all 10 said that they had definitely seen others do the same, multiple times.

6 admitted to having listened to music on their headphones at least once in a classroom setting, while 9 of the 10 said that they had definitely done so in a public building. Could the majority of students at GCC survive without these two devices?

GCC student Steve Marquez doesn't think so, "they're very handy."

He went on to explain that he had racked up 10,068 text messages 2-week period in January alone, and that he hardly ever talks on the phone anymore.

7-10 said that they didn't believe they could live without their cell phone or iPod for more than a week without going insane.

Tiara Wolfgramm, another student at GCC says that she believes that texting is an addiction, "Can't live without it."

When asked how dependent college students are on their technology, Tiara says, "Very, I mean we use it for studying, to work out, to pacify time in classes, to find people…"

While Cell phones and iPods can be very useful and helpful, they can also be a problem at GCC.

Tiara relates, "I think a lot of them cheat on tests. A lot of us are very sneaky; we pull our phones out when teachers aren't looking. A lot of us have the ability to text without looking."

However, Stacy Roberts believes that cell phones can be beneficial when used for school, "even email nowadays is kind of inconvenient."

For better or for worse, it is apparent that these devices aren't going anywhere, and as students have found, they are a way of life here at GCC.

Please send comments to amoody@gccvoice.com