 Photo Illustration by Emily Melton | The Appalachian However, the students arriving this year have not grown up in the same technological world as those who first arrived over a century ago, or even those who arrived a decade ago.
“There’s an expectation that people should always be in contact,” said Norman E. Clark, professor in the communication department who studies the Internet and social movement.
Popular technological advancements used for communication include cell phones, e-mail, Facebook and Skype, among others.
Through these, distance between school and home can be covered almost instantaneously for a number of freshmen.
Katherine A. Meeks, an incoming freshman majoring in Art Education often uses Skype, a program that allows students to video-chat with anyone that also has the program.
“It’s great because it really makes you feel like you’re there,” Meeks said.
Lauren E. White, a sociology major who is beginning her second year as a residential assistant, has observed similar sentiments among her freshman residents.
Through advanced technologies, they have the option of staying connected, so they often don’t feel so totally disconnected and alone,” White said.
However, there can be negative impacts of freshmen communicating so easily with people from their hometowns.
“It’s kind of annoying,” Meeks said. “Because it sometimes feels like it’s distracting me from my college experience.”
From a parent’s perspective, Clark said, “It makes it harder for some parents to let go, which has to happen sometime.”
Popular new ways of communicating are not only used for keeping in touch with people from back home.
Social networking sites like Facebook can give freshmen a “jump-start on their new social lives,” according to CNN.com.
For some freshmen this means talking to their roommate before actually arriving at school, or even selecting a roommate based on common interests shared over networking sites.
White said she and her roommate initially met over Facebook because she “wanted to find someone [she] could get along with easily.”
White also appreciated the extra opportunity to get to know her roommate because even though Appalachian does issue a roommate survey, it does not ask all the questions that may be important in a living situation, she said.
Once arriving on campus, these innovative ways of communicating are useful when keeping up with events and meeting new people.
“There’s a comforting anonymity behind the computer screen,“ White said. “But you can friend someone on Facebook and there’s instantly a connection.”
Story: MOLLY SPEARS, Intern News Reporter
Photo: EMILY MELTON, Associate Editor for Online and Production Operations
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