This really depends on the task and the type of person who's trying to do it.

Right this minute, for example, I'm allegedly finishing a term paper. Though I do need the Internet to research (the campus library is a good distance away - like, 70 miles - so I'm not going to go up there and use actual books for this paper), I'm currently...explaining why I'm not doing my paper.

However, when I've had to write similar papers without having Internet access, I've finished them all relatively quickly. This paper has taken me a few days and I still need three or four more pages, whereas I complete the "no-Internet" papers in one to two days.

I'm also a part-time freelance writer, mostly for the Internet. In this case, the Internet makes productivity possible because, without it, I can't upload my work or research the pieces that I'm writing. (It's difficult, for example, to review a Web site without, you know, being able to see it.)

At the same time, you have my youngest brother, who has Internet access on his laptop and a bunch of papers to write for college. As far as he's concerned, the Internet does not even exist until he either a) finishes his paper, or b) needs to use the Internet to look up something for that paper. He has a much-strong work ethic than I do, and more willpower. That, and he wants to be finished with the paper as soon as possible so that he can get out of the computer chair and go do something that he actually likes.

There was an interesting, informal discussion about the Internet (Facebook, specifically, and similar sites) over at Rate My Students. The professors and other faculty there are divided on the issue, of course. Some believe that having such easy access to the Internet makes it more difficult for students to meet deadlines and/or turn in the best-possible work (because some tend to goof off and work at a frenzied pace right before the deadlines), while others believe that students have been blowing off assignments for as long as we've had colleges.

Permalink | Report