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U3ACollegelifeintheInternetageThecollegecampus,longaplaceofscholarshipandfrontiersofnewtechnology,isbeingtransformedintoanewageofelectronicsbyafleetoflaptops,smartphonesandconnectivity2hoursaday.2Onatypicalmodern-daycampus,whereeverybuildingandmostoutdoorcommonareasofferwirelessInternetaccess,onestudenttakesherlaptopeverywhere.Inclass,shetakesnoteswithit,sometimesinstant-messagingoremailingfriendsiftheprofessorislessthaninteresting.Inherdorm,sheinstant-messagesherroommatesittingjustafewfeetaway.Sheistiedtohersmartphone,whichsheevenusestotextafriendwholivesoneflooraboveher,andwhichsuppliesmusicforwalksbetweenclasses.Welcometocollegelifeinthe2stcentury,wherestudentsoncampusareelectronicallylinkedtoeachother,toprofessorsandtotheirclasswork24/inanever-flowingriverofinformationandcommunication.WithmanyschoolsofferingwirelessInternetaccessanywhereoncampus,collegesasagrouphavebecomethemostInternet-accessiblespotsintheworld.22Studentssaytheyreallyvaluetheirfingertip-accesstotheboundlessamountofinformationonline,andtheabilitytoemailprofessorsata.m.andreceiveresponsesthenextmorning.IalwaysfeellikeIhaveameansofcommunication-inclassandoutofclass,saysoneengineeringmajor.Manyareusingsmartphones,notonlytocreatetheirowndialectswhentexting,butalsotodomoreseriouswork,suchaspracticingforeignlanguagesandanalyzingscriptsfromtheirtheaterclasses.InauniversityclassonthehistoryofAmericanradio,studentsusesmartphonestorecordtheirownradioshows.Thecourseinstructorsaid,It'saddingtostudents'senseofexcitementaboutthesubject,Professorshavebeenencouragedtotapetheirlecturesandpostthemonline.Werealizedtheremightbesomepotentialforadevicethatcouldgetattentionandencouragesophisticatedthinking,saysoneleadinguniversitydirector.Formostundergraduates,non-stopInternetconnectivityisthefuelofcollegelife.Morethanjusttoys,theseinstrumentsarepowerfultoolsforthestorageandmanagementofvirtuallyeverykindofinformation.Andasmorepeoplearoundtheworldadopttheseinstruments,theyarebecomingindispensable.So,studentsshouldusethewondersoftheInternettodohomework,reviewlectureoutlines,takepartinclassdiscussionsandnetworkonlinewiththeirfriends.Butindoingso,studentsmustremembertoregulateandbalancetheirtime.Toomuchtimeonlinecanmeantoolittletimeinreal-lifestudyingorexercisingorvisitingwithfriends.StudentsshouldnotlettheInternetworldontheircomputerscreenstakethemawayfromtherealworldoutside.CollegesbeganembracingInternetaccessinthemid-990s,whenmanybeganwiringdormswithhigh-speedconnections.Inthepastfewyears,schoolshavetakentheleadbyturningtheircampusesintobubblesofWi-Finetworks.Infact,arecentstudyintheUSfoundthatinformationtechnologyaccountedfor5%to8%ofcollegebudgets,upfromanestimated2%to3%inthemid-980s.295%-8%282%-3%Ononecampus,studentsuseWi-Fitofireoffinstantmessages,reviewtheirhomeworkassignments,andchecktheirbankbalances.Justninemilesdownthehighway,anotheruniversityhadbeenfeelingabitofatechnologyinferioritycomplex.Tocompensate,itspenttensofthousandsofdollarstogiveeveryoneofitsincomingfreshmenafreeAppleiPad.iPadSomeuniversitiesevenrequirethatallstudentsownorleasealaptop.Somesaythefocusontechnologypreparesstudentsforawiredworld.Youhavetokeepupwiththerestoftheworld.Studentsexpecthigh-bandwidthinformation,andifyoucan'tdeliverit,you'reatacompetitivedisadvantage,statesauniversitypresident.Othercollegesarestrainingtostandoutfromtheirpeers.Theracetoattractstudentswiththemostmodemnetworksandthehottestsystemshasreachedfeverpitch.Somebusinessmajorsarereceivingfreeportablecomputers.Inanalways-connectedmode,theycangetinformationanytimeandanywheretheyneed.Oneuniversityisevengivingitsfreshmennewsmartphonestoenrichthestudentexperienceandpreparethemforsuccessinarapidlychangingworld.Forthosewhoprefertotravellaptop-free,collegessupplyseveralcomputerlabs.Andforstudentswhostudylateintothenight,manyhavesetup24-hourrepairshopswherestudentscangettheirlaptopsfixedbythenextdayandreceivealoanerinthemeantime.2Collegesaroundtheworldhavebeenreplacingtheircomputersystemsforthepastdecade,inlargeparttoprovidestudentswiththemostadvancedfreesystem.Theanywhere-anytimeaccesshasalreadyyieldedamazingbenefitsineducation.Withthewidespreadapplicationofcomputertechnologies,wearegoingtoproduceagenerationofproblem-solversandintelligentthinkers,whichisindispensableforthefutureoftheworld.U3BToomuchofagoodthing-ArealaddictionPerhapsthegreatestchangetheworldhasseeninmoderntimeshasbeentheriseoftheInternet.It'shardtodenythepositivechangesitaddstopeople'slivesasitmakeslifeeasierwithquickaccesstothingslikemaps,news,andonlinestores.Asaresearchtool,itisunmatched.It'sagreatwaytokeepupwithfriends.Itenablesawealthofmediaoutletsandalternativenewssources.Internetaccessandtheabilitytomakegooduseofitispracticallyamustforsuccessinthemodernworld.Likeanytechnology,though,ithasnegativeaspectsthatbecomeclearaswestarttodependuponit.Likepollutionandtrafficjamsthatcomewiththeconvenienceofcars,Internetaccesshasprovensopopularthatithasgivenrisetoanewkindofsocialepidemic,Internetaddiction.Considerthefollowingstories.Afewyearsago,acoupleintheUnite