Cell phone

Katherine Rose had never thought she would enjoy being without a cell phone.

But when Rose, political science junior, worked at a camp last summer in Wagoner — where there was little cell phone reception and she could only use her phone rarely — she realized she enjoyed the independence from her phone.

“That freedom of not [having to] answer people instantly felt really great,” Rose said.

Rose often feels tied to her phone, she said.

“I’m doing homework, and I get a text, and I’m required to respond almost instantly because people get offended,” she said. “It’s like always having to be tethered.”

Rose recently considered getting rid of her cell phone and replacing it with a landline, but she opted to keep the cell phone after considering the challenges that not having one could present.

Not having a cell phone would have been difficult when it came to planning, Rose said. She would have had to make plans further in advance and would have not been able to make as many last-minute plans often prompted by the convenience of cell phones.

Chelsey Henderson, University College freshman, has been without a cell phone for the last week. She lost her phone somewhere on campus last weekend and will not be able to get a new one for weeks, she said.

“My social life has just dropped completely,” Henderson said. “I’m stuck doing everything alone because I can’t meet up with anybody.”

She said she did not realize how dependent she was on her cell phone until she lost it.

“I always think to myself, ‘What did [previous generations] do without phones?’” Henderson said. “I’m miserable because I’m a freshman, and I’m just getting started.”

Nonetheless, Rose said she has not completely eliminated the idea of throwing out her cell phone. She said she likes the idea of living at a slower pace and not feeling accountable to everyone all the time.

“It’s like a new societal expectation, kind of,” she said. “It’s a new way to offend someone.”

-Caitlin Harrison/The Daily

Computer

For some students, grabbing a laptop to check e-mail and Facebook is not feasible because they do not own a computer.

“I go every day to the computer lab,” said Lauren Freie, University College freshman, who does not have a computer. “I go once or twice a day depending on what homework I have.”

Freie said she goes to the computer lab before her classes and during much of the time she has in between.

She said it is “very hard not having a computer” because she works and does not usually do her homework until late at night.

Haby Ly, an international student from Senegal studying civil engineering, said she does not have a computer here or at home.

“I would go to the Internet Café [in Senegal] or use the computers at my school,” Ly said.

She said she goes to campus computer labs anywhere from three to six times a day to do homework, do research or check her e-mail.

“One disadvantage is that I feel really comfortable doing my homework in a small space in my room instead of the large computer lab,” Ly said.

-Natasha Goodell/The Daily

Texting

Among the hundreds of students sending text messages under desks during class or as they walk down the South Oval, there are some who do not.

There are some who do not have text messaging at all on their cell phones.

Evan King, anthropology junior, said his dad pays his cell phone bill, so he does not have text messaging because it is not essential.

“It saves my dad money,” King said. “Sometimes I don’t want to be communicated with, and if you want to get me, you have to call.”

King, who said he talks to friends by phone, Facebook and e-mail, said it is sometimes a negative aspect of not having text messaging.

“Sometimes I don’t want to call somebody,” he said. “I’d rather just text something really simple.”

King is not opposed to text messaging — in fact, he recently talked to his father about getting text messaging and fewer talking minutes on his plan.

“I want texting, but my dad is paying my bill,” he said.

Angelica Pollock, nursing sophomore, said text messaging is beneficial for situations in which talking in a quiet place would not be possible or would be rude.

“If you’re trying to let people know about when a certain thing is, you can send out a mass text rather than having to call each person,” she said.

-Brittney Brown/The Daily

Facebook

Andrew Nimeh, University College freshman, said he tells people to get off Facebook since it becomes an addiction.

“I’m not a fan of virtual conversations,” he said. “I’m more of a face-to-face guy.”

Nimeh is not the only OU student to not have a Facebook account. Several OU students have avoided joining the popular social network because they value other forms of communication.

Facebook is “an easy way to talk with friends who don’t live around you,” said Chaz Black, journalism sophomore. But “it’s definitely time-consuming,” he said.

Students have plenty of other ways to talk to friends, said Erin Stokes, University College freshman. Stokes said she prefers to call or send text messages to her friends instead of using Facebook.

“It doesn’t matter who I’m around,” she said, “they say something to me about getting one.”

-Brittney Brown/The Daily