Spring Break
Yearning for YouTube
Kat Farmer, Contributing Writer, kfarmer@smu.edu
Issue date: 12/3/08 Section: News
"I wanted to go on YouTube and watch someone do it, but I couldn't. I finally Googled it and found written instructions and got frustrated and broke it with pliers," the student said.
Students generally struggled with going "cold turkey" with online videos. Some felt disconnected from their favorite television shows because they would typically watch them online, whereas others simply increased the time spent watching the television set.
One of the participants reported a particularly difficult time because she doesn't have a television in her dorm room. The inability to access television online while alone in her dorm room resulted in her turning to social media to pass the time.
"I have these awkward breaks in my classes…and since I didn't have (online video) I would creep on people's Facebook...or I would just sit there."
Some participants said they used online videos as procrastination devices, to "de-stress" from school or work or to keep current with popular culture. When he couldn't access online video, one participant said he found himself chewing gum to cope with his stress and nervous energy. Others said they sought more human contact by visiting other students.
In a picture collage created to describe the effects of online video deprivation, one participant selected a picture of a man straining to see through a tiny hole. "I felt sight-restricted, because I couldn't see what was going on," he said.
Students generally struggled with going "cold turkey" with online videos. Some felt disconnected from their favorite television shows because they would typically watch them online, whereas others simply increased the time spent watching the television set.
One of the participants reported a particularly difficult time because she doesn't have a television in her dorm room. The inability to access television online while alone in her dorm room resulted in her turning to social media to pass the time.
"I have these awkward breaks in my classes…and since I didn't have (online video) I would creep on people's Facebook...or I would just sit there."
Some participants said they used online videos as procrastination devices, to "de-stress" from school or work or to keep current with popular culture. When he couldn't access online video, one participant said he found himself chewing gum to cope with his stress and nervous energy. Others said they sought more human contact by visiting other students.
In a picture collage created to describe the effects of online video deprivation, one participant selected a picture of a man straining to see through a tiny hole. "I felt sight-restricted, because I couldn't see what was going on," he said.
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