Why not having social media might be good for students

Braintrack.com reports on the beneficial effects of a campus blackout of social media earlier this fall:

The campus blackout, which was widely reported in September, blocked access to social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The survey found that as a result of the exercise, one-quarter of students said they could concentrate in classes better, and 23 percent said they found lectures more interesting. One-third of students said they were less stressed, and several professors said their students understood concepts better through conversation with faculty than after trying to grasp it using social media.

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One student, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education, told the university’s provost, Eric Darr, “that he had to actually talk to his professor during the blackout.”

About the blogger

Alex Friedrich

afriedrich@mpr.org

Alex Friedrich reports on higher education issues for MPR News. Among the stories he has covered: the fall of the Berlin Wall, aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, 2003 Moscow suicide bombing and 2004 presidential elections in the Republic of Georgia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Georgia and a master’s in European political economy from the London School of Economics.