much less formal," he says. "You can figure out
what you want to say and keep trying until you get
it right. I can be more myself over e-mail. One pro-
fessor joked with me and called me a goofball. I just
don't think that's the kind of conversation we could
have had if we were in his office."
The meek, it seems, have inherited the world
(Wide Web?). The Internet scene is rapidly grow-
ing. Some estimate 20 million users worldwide and
a growth of 1 million per month.
A recent American Association of State Colleges
and Universities survey of big and small schools
found that 93 percent of the institutions (100 per-
cent of the large ones) have Internet access and 99.5
percent have e-mail.
For some, the access makes for practical time-
savers like checking whether a library book is in
without trekking across campus only to find it gone.
For others, the access provides too much
temptation - and the techno-play can become
addictive.
"It's just so easy to get into and so easy to
abuse," says a U. of California, Berkeley, sophomore
who was required to withdraw from school last
spring because he failed three fall courses.
"I had just gotten to college and had never
used e-mail or any of that stuff before," he says.
"It all seemed so fun and harmless and collegiate.
Then I met a girl on-line, and we used to talk all
night, every night. I hardly slept, and I never did
my work because I just couldn't wait to get back
to my computer.
While the student was on required leave, his
account was shut down, and he says he's kicked his
e-mail habit. But despite the extremeness of his
case, he says he knows he could get caught in the
'net again.
"You can meet so many people in such a short
amount of time - people you know you could
never walk up and say hi to," he says. "People fight
for attention, but they fight from a level playing
field. Nobody knows anything about you except
whatever name you're using, so you fight to be witty
and cool - good things to judge people on."
At most colleges, Internet accounts are free.
They're cheap and easy ways to keep in touch with
old high school friends. Then college friends across
campus. Or across the hall. New acquaintances enter
the picture through newsgroups or chat lines, where
users with similar interests weigh in on topics.
Help! i've fallen,
and I can't get off-line
It's easy to get sucked into Internet culture, says
De Paola. And once you start, he adds, it's even eas-
ier to get stuck.
De Paola, a computer science major, will gradu-
ate in December. He's starting to think about jobs.
But more importantly, he says, he's found a good,
cheap on-line service that will save him from the
withdrawal new graduates face when their accounts
are cut off.
"It's funny, but that's the most important thing
to me right now," he says. "I absolutely feel like I'm
dependent on it to be happy with my life."
Wainess, too, says he depends on the 'net, but
the manifestation in his life is a little different. "My
account allows me to stretch my day by about five
hours," he says. "There are so many things I can do
that I wouldn't be able to do otherwise."
Wainess has also been able to streamline his the-
sis research - on health-care initiatives during the
Nixon presidency - by searching online.
"I certainly won't be avoiding dusty library
stacks altogether, but I can't believe what's possible
out there," he says.
Wainess had been wishing he could go to the
Nixon Library in California. The next time he was
on the 'net, he surfed - practically accidentally -
right into its database.
"I'm not by nature computer-literate, but if you
can't use this stuff, it's widespread enough now that
people who can use it will pass you by," he says. "It
shouldn't be more than a supplement to hands-on
stuff, and it will never replace human interaction in
a healthy world, but now it's certainly something
you need to do things well and quickly"
Really, I'm a people person
Yvonne Chiu, a '94 Dartmouth College gradu-
ate and former editor of Dartmouth's daily newspa-
per, says too much Internet actually pushed her
back toward human
contact.
"I got to the point
where I just couldn't
stand it," Chiu says.
"I'd get 100 random
messages a day from
people who were too
lazy to pick up the
phone and call. At
Darttmouth, nobody
calls anybody any-
more unless it's an
emergency. I had to
send messages to peo-
ple telling them that if
they wanted me, they
should call me.
"You can do all
kinds of things with
the Internet. But you
can never replace the
effort that goes into a
real conversation, and
that's what college
students are missing
out on now."
Tara Arden-Smith, a
Harvard U senior, is
executive editor of The
Harvard Crimson. She'd
leave an e-mail address,
but she can't work the
new-fangled technology.
Netiquette
Emily may not have ever
posted, but that doesn't mean
you shouldn't mind your man-
ners when you're online.
" DON'T SHOUT!!! Typing in
alt caps is censidered rude. Put
asterisks aroend a werd Ce
emphasize a point.
" Anybody home? Check e-
mail often - it's as important
as clearing and returning phone
messages.
e Do you like to read bab-
ble? None of us do. Keep para-
graphs and messages short and
to the point.
" What are you talking
about? Use the "re" or
"memo" lines - it's nice to
know what you're getting
when you open a file.
" Keep your cool - flaming
(sending scathing replies to
others on the network) hurts.
Be nice.
" That's not funny. Sarcasm
and humor don't always trans-
late when you're not face to
face. Use symbols to convey
your point.
"I had to
send messages
telling them
that if they
wanted me,
they should
call me."
YVONNE CHIU,
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE
October 1995 * U. Magazine 27