Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Distracted in class

Laptops really can be distracting in class. I'm writing this from my TAM class right now, so I'm feeding into the statement, but that's okay. It's a risk I'm willing to take.

But where I truly learned this lesson was Monday in my marketing class. The boy in front of me in class was playing a popular game on MiniClip called "Red Beard," which I would compare to watching a Super Mario Bros. type game. The kid playing had to be on the same level where he jumped up numerous logs and would finally be at the top of the hill, and would just fall back down. I was dying. Thankfully, his computer battery died in the middle of class. And he didn't pass the level. Darn! Then, if the distracting game was not enough, he didn't have anything to take notes on so he took photos of the Powerpoint slides on the screen with his iPhone. Wow...the world we live in. Sherman and I approached him at the end and made sarcastic comments about how much it took off of our focus, better than saying nothing.

Then I wondered, should I have felt weird approaching him and saying something? During J1100 last year, a girl sitting behind me asked if I was a member of Phi Mu. When I replied yes, she said, "Yeah...I've seen you updating its website during class! It's so cool!" Did I take this as a compliment or as creepy? A little of both. But what I learned to realize is that when you're doing something in public, it becomes other people's business. If you're Facebook stalking someone....people see it. If you're checking My Greek Gossip, people see it, and if you're reading e-mails...people see them.

Is that fair? No. My J2000 class has come to the conclusion that nothing is fair. So we must get over it and realize that people are nosy. Because I am usually with my friends who are journalism majors, we feed into this stereotype. Journalists are nosy, but on the other hand, it's natural to observe your surroundings.

So the lesson learned here? Observe surroundings....and if they seem distracting, then move yourself to avoid it. It's not fair, but it must be done. And if it's not...I might be googling Red Beard and furthermore, wasting my time. Thanks curiosity.

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