by Michael Wagner ‘12

For years, the growth of technology has gone hand-in-hand with entertainment. Each technological upgrade allows electronic goods to perform more tasks than each previous version. Thus, the use of applications (apps) on touch screen devices has become the main source of portable entertainment. According to a Warrior survey of 100 students, a majority have deemed these apps as their most used or favorite.

 facebook

Facebook has become a major part of teenage social life. With phones or iPods gaining the ability to use it, students have the means to stay connected even away from the computer. “I can use [Facebook] when I’m out, and stay in touch with people,” said one student respondent to the survey. Her statement (judging from the sparkly light blue ink) proves to be the selling point for this app. Because of its convenience for teens to just reach into their pockets or purses and instantly communicate with friends and post updates, students are no longer tied down by their computers. Calling people is overrated; cool kids use Facebook!

 Angry Birds

Ever wanted to slingshot colorful (and probably endangered) birds at bright green pigs (the source of Sam-I-Am’s ham) just for fun? Unfortunately, that’s probably illegal to some degree so we all have to make do with Angry Birds. Why are the birds angry? No one knows and no one cares. “[Angry Birds is] fun, addicting [and] makes you think,” said junior Brian Fanelli. Angry Birds brings the satisfaction of completing the task with its comical violence and mixes it with sound strategy. Thus, this contradictory combination yields highly satisfying game play or extreme frustration when the player realizes that there is that one survivor that sneers at him or her in defiance.

 Twitter

Same thing as Facebook except with a lot more status updates and a lot more helpful for stalkers.

 Weather Bug

Knowing what the weather will be like during the day has been vital information for centuries. First, farmers used a device which measured the barometric pressure of the air to predict storms so that they knew what to do with their crops beforehand. Now, however, students use weather apps to help them determine what to wear that particular day. Either way, it’s handy and a must-have for students.

 YouTube

Ahh, yes, YouTube, what would procrastination be without it? With its vast library of videos, it’s hard not to lose track of time when viewing all the videos one can (reasonably) hope to see. “I can look up anything,” noted one survey respondent. And if used in conjunction with a video camera app, one can shoot videos and upload them to YouTube straight away. However, if one were to try to act out a skit with friends during lunch, everyone all will end up looking quite ridiculous. However, if the video goes viral, it would have been worth the embarrassment.

With a wide variety of apps in the available, students have access to hours worth of digital entertainment. Truly, with such useful and addicting apps such as these and many others, it is not surprising to see why some students spend hours just fiddling around with their iPods, iPhones or whatever else they use daily.