Specifically, software such as AOL Instant Messenger, which allows users to type real time conversations back and forth, and Napster, a music sharing program which recently made headlines when its legality was questioned, have become so popular that the vast majority of students now use them regularly. However, perhaps the greatest file-sharing occurs in record numbers everyday on the Napster Music Community. Bellows currently shares nearly 3,000 files on Napster. Napster has become such a problem in some places, parituclarly colleges, that institutions such as Rice University have banned Napster because overwhelming numbers of music downloads can bring campus network to a virtual standstill. While the Internet does contain many potential distractions, most students seem sensible about their Internet use.
Most students find the Internet a true blessing when they have to write research papers.
According to Dr. Raulston, this connection will soon be replaced with a wireless connection of roughly the same speed. Internet use has also been encouraged through homework and other activities that can only be found online. I Vocabulary Exercises are posted on the school web page for extra Vocab practice, and nearly all Math III AP coursework is found online. Perhaps part of the reason that the Internet is being used so heavily is that many teachers trust students not to abuse the Internet and become distracted while they do their assignments. Distractions, he observed, are nothing new to student life.