Internet: The New Necessity

By Brandon Morgan (past articles)
Virginia Tech University

03/11/2004

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The Internet has come a long way since its debut in the mid-1990s - especially for college students. College kids around the country depend on the Internet in their everyday life. It's not just a luxury anymore; it's a necessity.

Students can register for courses with just a few mouse clicks. They can find out which classes are open and immediately switch in to them, and in just moments, students can add and drop classes instead of waiting in long lines to change their schedules.

"It helps having all your class resources at a touch of a button in one centralized location," said Justin Valdez, a student at Virginia Tech.

File sharing has become a popular hobby that college students have adopted. According to a survey by Pew Internet & American Life Project, 44 percent of college students reported that they share files from their computer. The ability to download any type of media file has probably cured almost every case of boredom diagnosed in a college dorm. The Ethernet connection that is available on campuses nationwide makes downloading media files much faster than other Internet connections.

Most banks around college areas offer online banking, which make it possible for an account holder to check the balance of their account at any given time. Any time a transaction is made, the online account balance is updated, making banking less of a hassle.

"Being able to know how much money I had in my checking account 24 hours a day made my freshman year at college much easier. By just using the Internet, I checked my balance so I didn't overdraw money," said John Bailey, student at the University of Delaware.

Using the Internet as a research tool has saved every procrastinating college student at any school. Instead of making the trek across campus to the library to look up information for that 15-page research paper, students can do the research much more efficiently online.

"My time is spent much more efficiently since I can access everything from home, anytime. I can't imagine having to run around the library since the Internet makes it all so easy," said Katie McLaughlin, a University of San Diego student.

In the past few years there has been an increasing dependency on the Internet by college students. We have to rely on the Internet for so many tasks in our every day lives. From registering for classes, to keeping in touch with friends across the country, to downloading media files, the Internet is a necessity in a typical college student's lifestyle.