Addicted to phones?

Cell phone use becoming a major problem for some, expert says
Published: January 18 2007

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — “Turn off your cell phones and pagers.”

For most people, heeding these warnings in hospitals or at the movies is as simple as pressing a button. But for a growing number of
people across the globe, the idea of being out of touch, even just for a 90-minute movie, is enough to induce anxiety, says a University
of Florida psychologist who studies addictions to the Internet and other technologies.
Although cellular phones and personal digital assistants such as the BlackBerry were created to make modern life more convenient,
they’re actually beginning to interfere in the lives of users who don’t know when to turn them off, says Lisa Merlo, an assistant
professor of psychiatry in the UF College of Medicine.
“It’s not so much talking on the phone that’s typically the problem although that can have consequences too,” Merlo said. “(It’s) this
need to be connected, to know what’s going on and be available to other people. That’s one of the hallmarks of cell phone addiction.”
Unlike addictions to alcohol, drugs or even gambling, it can be hard to pinpoint problematic cell phone use. Almost everyone has a
cell phone and uses it regularly. But if someone can’t get through dinner without sending text How people respond to being separated
from their cell phones or PDAs is another clue. Frequent users often become anxious when they are forced to turn off the phone or if
they forget it at home, so much so that they can’t enjoy whatever they’re doing, Merlo added. Often, cell phone “addicts”
compulsively check their ph ng text messages or furiously typing on a personal digital assistant during a meeting, it may be time to
take a step back, Merlo said.
ones for voicemails and text messages, she said.
“When (cell phone overuse) really becomes problematic for a lot of people is if they have underlying anxiety or depression,” she said. “This
can really exacerbate it or (cause) their symptoms to manifest themselves.”
For example, someone who already worries about what others think of them could become easily agitated if their phone calls or
messages aren’t returned right away.
“This is something that is going to affect them on a day-to-day basis,” Merlo said.
The problem seems to be growing. A Japanese study revealed that children with cell phones often don’t make friends with their less
tech-savvy peers, a Hungarian study found that three-fourths of children had mobile phones and an Italian study showed that one
quarter of adolescents owned multiple phones and many claimed to be somewhat addicted to them. A British study also recently found
that 36 percent of college students surveyed said they could not get by without cell phones. But this may be more a sign that students
view cell phones as a modern necessity like a car, said David Sheffield, a psychologist who conducted the study at Staffordshire
University in England.
“The most shocking figure was that 7 percent said the use of mobile phones had caused them to lose a relationship or a job,” Sheffield said.
Although experts have pinpointed these problems in frequent cell phone users, studies have yet to show if a bad cell phone habit
constitutes an actual addiction. Yet as with traditional addictions, excessive cell phone use is associated with certain hallmark patterns
of behavior, including using something to feel good, building up a tolerance and needing more of it over time to get the same feeling,
and going through withdrawal if deprived of it, Merlo said.
Cell phone users could start out with one phone and switch to newer models with more advanced features or PDAs that act like mini-
computers over time to get the same feeling they had with their first phone, she said. Although withdrawal is typically considered a
physical response that occurs when the body goes without a chemical, the anxiety cell phone users feel without their phone could
simply be another form of withdrawal.
“Those things lend toward the idea that maybe this is an addiction, but maybe it’s manifesting in a little bit different way than you
would think of a chemical substance,” Merlo said.
Addiction also causes changes in the brain, but scientists have yet to measure what happens in the brains of cell phone users, she said.
Even eating and other behaviors have been shown to produce the same effects in the brain as drugs and alcohol in some people, UF
studies have shown.
For frequent phoners who do think they have a problem or for parents of children obsessed with their cells, Merlo advises
downgrading to a basic phone with fewer features and setting limits about where and when to use the phone.
“Cell phones are a great technology,” Merlo said. “They’re useful in a lot of situations. (But) one of the most important things is
making sure you have some cell phone free time in your day. It’s OK to turn it off. Focus on family, homework, knowing that cell
phone message will still be there.”
An Argument Worth Having

By GERALD GRAFF
Published: September 5, 2009

Freshmen are often overwhelmed by the intellectual challenge of college — so many subjects to be covered, so many facts, methods
and philosophical isms to sort out, so many big words to assimilate. As if that weren’t enough, what your different instructors tell you
may be flatly contradictory.

Students understandably cope with this cognitive dissonance by giving each of their teachers in turn whatever he or she seems to want.
Students learn to be free-market capitalists in one course and socialists in the next, universalists in the morning and relativists after
lunch. This tactic has got many a student through college, but the trouble is that, even when each course is excellent in itself, jumping
through a series of hoops doesn’t add up to a real socialization into the ways of intellectual culture.

What the most successful college students do, in my experience, is cut through the clutter of jargons, methods and ideological
differences to locate the common practices of argument and analysis hidden behind it all. Contrary to the cliché that no “one size fits
all” educational recipe is possible, successful academics of all fields and intellectual persuasions make some key moves that you can
emulate:

1. Recognize that knowing a lot of stuff won’t do you much good unless you can do something with what you know by turning it into
an argument.

2. Pay close attention to what others are saying and writing and then summarize their arguments and assumptions in a recognizable
way. Work especially on summarizing the views that go most against your own.

3. As you summarize, look not only for the thesis of an argument, but for who or what provoked it — the points of controversy.

4. Use these summaries to motivate what you say and to indicate why it needs saying. Don’t be afraid to give your own opinion,
especially if you can back it up with reasons and evidence, but don’t disagree with anything without carefully summarizing it first.

It’s too often a secret that only a minority of high achievers figure out, but the better you get at entering the conversation by
summarizing it and putting in your own oar, the more you’ll get out of your college education.

Gerald Graff, the past president of the Modern Language Association and a professor of English and education at the University of
Illinois at Chicago, has been teaching since 1963.
Higher Education Trends to Watch for in 2013
By Emily Driscoll

Published January 28, 2013

FOXBusiness

Despite years of steady growth, college enrollment dropped by 0.2% in the fall of 2011, the first decline in 15
years, according to the U.S. Education Department's National Center for Education Statistics.

The number of undergraduates enrolled dropped to 18.62 million in 2011 from 18.65 million in 2010, but that
doesn’t necessarily mean less people are pursuing a four-year degree. The number of college students enrolled
in at least one online course increased for the ninth straight year, according to the Babson Survey Research
Group.

The 2011 study reports that the number of students taking at least one online course has now surpassed six
million and nearly one-third of all students in higher education are taking at least one online course.

The college experience is slowly shifting off campus and into the internet as students seek out multiple sources
for their educational experience, says Adam Newman, managing partner at Education Growth Advisors.

“Colleges that fail to focus on supporting, and frankly exceeding, the academic needs and expectations of
students will do so at their peril given the increasing number of plausible alternatives emerging,” he says.

Especially considering the increasing costs of a college education, students are expecting a return on investment
than ever before, says Brian Kibby, president of McGraw-Hill Higher Education. "Students want a good
experience but ultimately what they want is a great job, a great opportunity,” he says. “Everything that colleges
and universities do should be focused on what is the student’s result--if the students don’t have results, it’s just
harder for them to get that return on investment and then ultimately contribute to the global economy.”

For traditional colleges and universities evolving to meet the needs of their students, here are three trends the
experts predict will have a significant role in shaping higher education in 2013.

More Online Programs

While many colleges and universities have increased their online learning opportunities, experts predict that
schools will continue to bolster these courses and degree programs.

“They’re looking to accelerate that, not only because of the school’s initiatives, but as for assigning a stigma to
online learning—it’s gone,” says Kibby. “There are too many good studies that exist now that show students do
better in online programs.”

The introduction of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) means that every university now needs an online
strategy, with the more progressive institutions figuring how they can provide meaningful credentials online,
says Ryan Craig, managing director at University Ventures.

“Add to this the increased number of ‘online enablers’ or ‘service providers’ – companies that partner with
universities to help them develop online degree programs, and 2013 should see the greatest ever annual increase
(on an absolute basis) in online courses and degree programs.”
More Emphasis on ‘Self-Directed’ Learning

With a large number of adult learners over age 25 in higher education programs, there are already an increasing
number of self-paced and competency-based programs, which will become more common with traditional
college students in a trend dubbed “flipping the classroom,” predicts Craig.

“Flipping the classroom involves requiring students to view lectures online prior to class, which is then reserved
for focused learning, problem solving and group work--students in a flipped classroom environment need to be
much more self-directed,” he says.

While there will continue to be a rise of self-directed learning options, a key issue will be how institutions and
employers value these experiences, as the quality and caliber of self-directed learning programs vary widely,
says Newman.

“For those students pursing them with the context of personal enrichment, that may be fine,” he says. “As it
relates to employability and demonstrated competencies, it's an entirely different matter in which the value of
these self-directed options remains unproven.”

Shift in Faculty Hiring Processes

As schools continue to experience decreased endowments and tight budgets, fewer faculty members will be
hired on a full time basis, say the experts.

“One of the hardest jobs to get anywhere is full time, tenured faculty positions, whether they’re at a community
college or more elite colleges,” says Kibby. “Having said that, the need for passionate master teachers, whether
you’re a fourth grade teacher or at the highest level, that will never change and in fact, it will accelerate.”

In order to offer the same number of classes, maintain class size, and serve the same number of students with
fewer full-time faculty members, universities will be hiring more part-time faculty in 2013, says Jon
Lenrow, Associate Dean, Academic Operations and Faculty Support at Peirce College in Philadelphia.

“The direct cost to the institution is much lower to hire part-time faculty over full-time faculty,” he says. “Part-
time faculty members also frequently bring more practical experience to the classroom.”