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2B Wednesday February 232011 The Statement
t Wednesday, February 23, 20117// The Statement
statement
Magazine Editor:
Carolyn Klarecki
Editor in Chie:
Stephanie Steinberg
Managing Editor:
Kyle Swanson
Deputy Editors:
Stephen Ostrowski
Elyana Twiggs
Designers:.
Maya Friedman
Hermes Risien
Photo Editor:
Jake Fromm
Copy Editors:
Josh Healy
Hannah Poindexter
The Statement is The Michigan
Daily's news magazine, distributed
every Wednesday during the
academic yea.
To contact The Statement e-mail
klarecki@michigandaily.com.
Cover by Marissa McClain
THEJUNKDRAWER
random student interview by stephen ostrowski
Welcome to the Ran-
dom Student Inter-
view, where the line
between journalistic integ-
rity and personal boundaries
becomes blurred.
There's alot of pressure on me
to make this funny. So you bet-
ter do well.
OK, I'll try. I'll do my best.
What are your spring break
plans?
I'm going to Los Angeles.
Are you telling me the truth? I
just met you.
I mean, I'm a straightforward
guy. You can trust me.
So if we become friends after
this, you're not going to dou-
ble-cross me?
No, I'm not going to do that.
All right. I just want to clear
the air on that.
I'm not that kind of guy.
That's great to know. I'm sure
there are a lot of lovely ladies
who would want to know that
as well. Um, so what's bringing
you to L.A. on spring break?
I'm visiting some family out
there, and the weather and
everything.
The weather? Cool.
Yeah.
Cool. What are you going to do
out in L.A.?
Pretty much just relax, go to the
beach...
Read a book or two?
Maybe.
You're not the reading type?
Kind of. It depends.
On what? whether or not you
like to read? Does it fluctuate?
Sometimes I like reading, some-
times I don't.
When do you like reading?
When it's not school related.
OK. So what non-school relat-
ed material do you like to read?
Sports stuff I guess you could say,
pretty basic yeah.
You're an intelligent guy, I can
tell.
Yeah, exactly. I learn a lot.
OK. Anything else you like?
"Harry Potter," newspaper
circulars?
Not really. Never read a "Harry.
Potter" book.
Well then I think we're going
to have a lot of good conversa-
tions moving forward. By the
way, I apologize, I'm a little
stuffy and sick. My doctor said
I should stop being contagious
in a few days so you're fine.
OK. Good to know.
It's only swine flu. Don't worry
about it. What are your sum-
mer plans looking like?
I really have no idea, um ...
You've invested a lot in your
future.
Yeah, pretty much.
What would you like to do?
I don't know. I'm going to try to
work at the pool I worked at last
.summer so I got to figure that
out. Relax, have fun with my high
school friends I guess.
So you're still attached to high
school?
Yeah, definitely.
Like a "Dawson's Creek" kind
of thing for you?
Yeah.
You watch "Dawson's Creek?"
I'm a huge fan.
Interesting.
I'm a huge fan.
Finally we can relate on some-
thing. I guess the last few ques-
tions rounding up: what'd you
get at Pizza Hut?
I got a pepperoni pizza and some
breadsticks.
Is that your favorite place in
the Union?
Yeah, that or Wendy's. Depends.
Because they're healthy or
what do you like about them?
I mean, the health factor defi-
nitely plays a role, and I don't
know. It's not too expensive I
guess.
I'll see you at the gym.
I came from the gym.
I can tell. All right, thank you
Tom.
- Tom is anS LSA freshman
McKenna Green (LSA freshman)
"I'm compulsively checking it on my phone or on my computer all the time."
12 hssrs ags Comment like
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for the entire class.
So if time is money and class takes
time, you could instead be spending
at least a few dollars if you are a light
user, $15 if you are a medium user and
$30 to $50 dollars if you are a heavy
user during an hour-and-a-half class.
Maybe Facebook isn't so free.
Next time you are in a lecture hall
and find your finger drifting toward
the Facebook bookmark on your
Internet browser, just imagine Mark
Zuckerburg, in all his reclusive glory,
slipping into the seat next to you and
reaching his hand into your pocket to
pluck a pair of shiny quarters.
Amy Hassan, an LSA freshman
from San Diego, says she uses Face-
book "too much" during class. She
admitted she can be on Facebook for
a full hour during a lecture period.
When she was asked whether or not
she would go on Facebook for an hour
in class if it cost her $50, her response
was immediate.
"Definitely not," she said. "Not
nearly as much."
In the survey, 36 percent said that
Facebook was "pretty important" to
their lives and 12 percent said that it
was "very important." Eighty-three
percent of respondents said they visit
Facebook without consciously mak-
ing the decision to do so.
LSA freshman McKenna Green
said it's definitely possible to be
addicted.
"I'm compulsively checking it on
my phone or on my computer all the
time," she said.
She also echoed the response from
the student survey, saying she some-
times found herself on Facebook
without making the conscious effort
to go to the site.
To call something "addictive" is
attaching a pretty sizeable red flag.
There are many examples of non-
chemical activities that have been
known to be addictive. The Ency-
clopedia of Mental Disorders refers
to these as "process addictions."
Gambling, sex, and binge eating are
examples of addictions that studies
have shown to overlap with chemi-
cal-related addictions.
"It's a question of what's going on
in the brain," said the James Olds
Collegiate Professor of Psychology
and Neuroscience, Kent Berridge.
"People who are compulsively eating,
gambling or compulsively pursuing
sex could have some of the same fea-
tures a drug addict has."
The modern definition of addic-
tion has changed over the past few
decades. The more outdated quali-
fication for addiction was grounded
in withdrawal effects or the "com-
pulsive nature of addiction -that it
becomes uncontrollable, it persists
even when a person tries to quit,"
according to Berridge.
The Encyclopedia of Mental Disor-
ders does not recognize a "Facebook
Addiction," but it does recognize an
Internet addiction disorder.
"One symptom of Internet addic-
tion is excessive time devoted to
Internet use. A person might have
difficulty cutting down on his or
her online time even when they are
threatened with poor grades or loss
of a job," according to the Encyclo-
pedia.
Facebook makes it difficult to quit.
You cannot delete your account. It
is not an option. Instead, Facebook
offers the option of "deactivating."
By deactivating you are preventing
yourself from receiving notifica-
tions - and that's about it. It is
essentially the same as logging out of
your account. When you feel the itch
to return all you need to do is click
"login."
The site's mission statement is to
"give people the power to share and
make the world more open and con-
nected." However, when it comes to
power there seems to be a significant
incongruence in its allocation.
Try calling Facebook's head offic-
es in Palo Alto, Calif., and you will
be directed to an automated voice
machine, which will offer a set of
options. Every single option will lead
to another voicemail that will encour-
age you to send them an e-mail, or
visit their website.
Considering its privately held
stocks, circuitous voicemail and
reclusive founder, this company
hardly seems to be the paradigm of
openness and connection it claims
to be. When it comes to understand-
ing the phenomenon of Facebook, we
have a limited view of its profile.
Mr. Zuckerburg could not be
reached for comment.
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Kent Berridge (professor of psychology)
"People who are compulsively eating, gambling or compulsively pursuing sex could
have some of the same features a drug addict has."
12 hours ago ."Comment"Like
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