HARRISBURG, Pa. — A central Pennsylvania technological college with fewer students than many Facebook users have friends is blacking out social media for a week.
The experiment at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology means students and staff can’t access Facebook, Twitter or a host of other social networks while on campus.
Provost Eric Darr said the exercise that began Monday isn’t a punishment for the school’s 800 students, nor a precursor to a ban, but a way to think critically about social media’s prevalence.
Darr said he can’t believe the controversy generated in the blogosphere and academia, with some accusing the school of inflicting “a terrible thing and an infringement upon people’s rights.”
Student Ashley Harris, 22, said the blackout has freed her to concentrate on her classwork instead of toggling on her laptop between social networks and the lesson at hand.
