Generation Distracted

In another depressing sign of the self-congratulatory, psychologically needy, Internet- and video-game-raised, social-media-driven generation now emerging into early adulthood, a recent survey of 1,200 college undergraduates by the market researchers at Student Monitor reveals the degree to which that group is attached to their cell phones and websites.

Student Monitor asked those students to choose what they believed was popular or "in" on campus from among a list of seventy-seven items. The top ten choices, each selected by 48% or more of the participants, included the obvious like drinking coffee (2nd, surprisingly) or beer (7th) and working out (9th), but if you thought sleeping, hooking up, smoking pot, looking at porn, studying, or performing community service were in the top tier, you'd be wrong. On the other hand, if you thought interacting with the Internet or personal technology would be among them, you would be more than just right -- you would have hit the target seven of the ten times!!

So what were all these tech choices? Number 1 was the Apple iPhone, Number 3 was texting, Number 4 was Facebook, Number 5 was the Apple iPad, and Number 6 was Instagram -- five of the top six choices. Following these were Snapchat (8th) and Twitter (10th).

Makes you wonder what those students' parents are paying for.