With the fi rst weeks of the semester underway,
the fi rst tests are just around the corner (that is, if
you haven’t taken one already). People’s study habits
vary just as much as the classes they’re taking, but
what about study distractions?
Television can hardly be considered a real threat for
the few weeks until fall pilot season begins. On the
other hand, most of us grew up watching children’s
cartoons with loud characters and vibrant colors that
change rapidly, something that might contribute to
our generation’s supposed low-attention span.
And then there’s this wonderful place called the
Internet. Some people have to go to the library to
get away from the lures of e-mail, MySpace.com or
World of Warcraft. Others opt for a more drastic
solution: disconnecting themselves from the Internet
for their entire study period so they can get some
work done.
These examples aside, online study tools are
becoming more and more popular. Many classes
rely on Blackboard as a focal point for discussions
and materials. And some textbooks, though pricey,
come with more supplements, such as disks and
subscriptions to study sites.
A new survey released last week from textbook
publishing company Houghton-Miffl in stated that
more college students are using the Internet as a
study tool – 59 percent, to be exact. Seventy-eight
percent of the students surveyed said they use online
quizzes. These numbers are good, fair enough. At
the same time, it might be good to know what the
participants studied. Some classes lend themselves
more to online supplements than others.
The survey did come up with some amazingly high
study-related statistics. Forty-four percent said they
did not study consistently throughout the semester.
Again, what about creative-writing majors? They
don’t need to study in the traditional sense of the
word and particularly not online.
The survey also stated that while more college
students care about getting good grades, approximately
6 percent – which comes to about one million
students – don’t study at all. Too much Halo or beer
pong, perhaps. This just goes to show that despite
the technological evolution of the study tool, there
will always be people who don’t give a hoot.
And as for the chosen method of distraction,
music and other forms of entertainment came in
at 44 percent. Computer-related diversions came
in second at 43 percent, while caffeine, sugars and
other foods placed third at 36 percent.
Looks like a complete list, doesn’t it? Well, it
is, almost; cell phones would defi nitely round out
the options. Receiving a phone call or text message
when you’re getting started with an all-nighter is
pretty irritating.
Anyone who plays games at work knows that
Internet and computer-related distractions go far
beyond our academic careers. According to a report
released last month, American companies could lose
as much as $435 million a week in productivity
during this football season because of employees
who play fantasy football. This is bad news for the
companies and for sticklers but also great news for
procrastinators because it proves that we really can
get away with it.
This being said, it’s time to choose a World of
Warcraft guild. Good luck on your tests, by the
way