A Discussion on the Social Factors That Influence a Students Life in College

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The ambitious American is always on the run trying to get ahead. The best place to notice a young American trying to make something himself or herself is at a college campus. You see some of them running to class because they overslept or still wearing their pajama’s because they never fell asleep. Furthermore, you see how technology affects their social and academic life. High technology phones help them get connected with the world and make doing homework simple. Furthermore, all this high-speed life style causes stress.
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The question that interests me is how college students manage this stress. All these social factors I believe play an important part in the overall being of a college student’s life in college.
For the majority of the day I stationed myself in the library cafeteria while studying for my very stressful Biology exam and examined student’s behavior, especially the ones that had test the next day. I want to observe behavior and see how sleep, excessive use of technology, and stress affects a college student’s health.

It’s interesting to me to compare the American culture with the article that we read in class, Babies As Ancestors Babies as Spirits: The Culture of Infancy in West Africa. Babies from birth are taught to be social in the community through things like wet nursing. This is drastically different compared to the United States. For example when I walk into an elevator, I feel ignored and in anti-social environment.
From the moment one steps into the elevator, I observed that people automatically whip out their phones to avoid an awkward moments.
I am guilty of this also; finally when the elevators doors open the phone is put away and the student continuous with their lives. Furthermore, in the cafeteria of the library, everyone is plugged into his or her headphones. They don’turn or talk to anyone. They seem to be in a distant place. From time to time you see a hand lift up in the air, and a person poses for a selfie. People are constantly checking their phone for a text in the middle of their study period. It seems impossible for today’s current generation to be without a phone.
My favorite study spot is in the library cafeteria, and from a week leading up to the Biology exam I studied there for time periods of 1 to 2 hours at the same time everyday. It was intersecting to note that the closer the exam got, more and more people came to the library to study. There was a time when I got there, and there was only three spots left in the cafeteria. I could overhear conversations of study groups going on, and of course, they were studying for the Biology exam. With energy drinks at their side they were scrambling to learn as much as possible. I walked down to the Skutt to get a late night study snack, the line was so long that I had to wait about thirty minutes to buy a snack. It was shocking to know that many of these students day was just beginning.
It was midnight, and I felt that I was done studying for the night. I packed up all my stuff and headed for my dorm. I stopped by the neutral zone and found it steaming with people. You could her people walking around with their books and notes to others rooms. I was done for the day and could not imagine that people still considered this to be early. From time to time I would wake up and hear walking by my door in the hallway, It was two in the morning and people were still awake. The long hours of studying must cause a significant amount of stress among students. How do these students deal with all the stress? In my case, I turn to art and music to calm myself down. Once the biology exam was over on Friday night, I could not find any of my friends on the floor. Then I realized that in order to forget how bad they did on the exam or to relax after all the stress, they went out to parties.
There were a lot of things going on especially with fraternities and sororities date parties. It was really weird for me because it has never been quieter on my floor on a Friday night. From all the observations I gathered, I stopped and looked around to see that there was a significant number of people that were sick with the flu on my floor. I remembered what I had learned in my Anatomy class last year. When one sleeps four hours compared to seven or eight, your body is only able to make half of the anti bodies that it normally would when you sleep for eight hours. In college, there is no such thing as sleep; rather there are a lot of naps. This could support the idea that due to lack of sleep, a college student’s antibodies are weaker and therefore students are more prone to disease.
Furthermore I have come to think that maybe technology and stress may lead to psychological problems or stress alone to things like alcoholism. At one point I asked my mentor if she knew that cell phones have more bacteria than a public restroom. She laughed and responded, “That is probably why I am sick.” She told me she has a habit of cleaning her phone by giving it a small lick and then cleaning it with her sleeve. No wonder she was sick. Cell phones also play a different role. Why would you send a snap chat to someone who is next to you? Take off your headphones and talk to real people. They are your true support system. People could use their phones or technology as a way to isolate themselves from other people. Being isolated and not having a support system could cause depression due to all the stress of school. Humans are interdependent and we need each other for successes.
However while we are social in the United States, we are encouraged to be independent. My question for further investigation is: what effect does being independent have on a culture? Next time I am on the elevator, I will put my phone down; say hello; maybe I will make a new friend. In conclusion, I have learned that it is important for students to take care of themselves. Everyone on campus is rapidly becoming infected by the flu. I know that being sick is not just about genetics, or your socioeconomic status. Many decisions that one makes everyday can affect your health. The college culture of taking naps instead of getting a real night of sleep can affect your health. Furthermore the stress and the distractions of technology can have psychological affects on people. It is important for students to learn this kind of thing to no only be healthier, but more successful in school.
Works Cited

Gottlieb, Alma. “Babies as Ancestors Babies as Spirits The Culture of Infancy in West Africa.” Museum UPeen 1st ser. 46.3 (n.d.): 13-21. Upen. Web. 07 Feb. 2015. .

 

Gina Butler

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