The availability of technological devices such as iPods, MP3 players and cell phones has increased consumer usage, and some are concerned that the result is a decline in the social interaction among students.

Rob Bates, a senior from Lyman, Idaho, said that since the increase in iPod usage, there has been a “definite decrease in the overall friendliness among students,” and that “the Spirit of Ricks has lessened.”

“Part of the reason this place is so great is because you can talk to people,” Bates said. “But people don’t talk as much anymore. Instead they zone out on their MP3 player or their iPod.”

Teresa Johnson, a senior from Walla Walla, Wash., has also noticed the effect devices like iPods have.

“People use iPods to drown out life, and that makes it so you’re not as in tune with the Spirit,” Johnson said.

Finding a solution, however, is difficult. “You can’t ban iPods. That’s elementary school,” Johnson said. 

Not everyone believes a solution is needed. Alex Jensen, a sophomore from Gunnison, Utah, is the owner of an iPod video. He feels that the use of iPods, cell phones and MP3 players has made little difference with regard to the interaction between students.

“Students still react the same way to one another because even before [cell phones and iPods] they’re all in a hurry to go separate ways and do separate things,” Jensen said. 

Annajean Boberg, a junior from Oak Harbor, Wash., agreed with Jensen.

“Lots of times people are preoccupied with their own thoughts, and [listening to an iPod] is kind of the same idea. Students interact the same way as they did without technology,” Boberg said.

Regardless of students’ likeliness to converse with one another, Greg Swapp, a sophomore from Denver, Colo., and the owner of an iPod, believes that while such devices do have advantages, there is a time and a place to use them.

“Cell phones are overused, but they’re definitely helpful in overall communication, and listening to music can be a good thing, for example, when studying … [but] cell phones and iPods should not be used in social settings,” Swapp said. “Sometimes it’s good not to be so occupied by a cell phone or an iPod. You don’t have to have technological devices to entertain yourself.”