by Colleen Yates ‘18

The House Party video chat app has increasingly become popular among students. It allows for up to eight people to video chat with each other at a time, and enables people to “lock” chat rooms, making them private. With eight people at once, conversations commonly overlap and lead to everyone talking at once. The app is already overused and students are often on it rather than doing homework or socializing face-to-face. Many people procrastinate doing homework and with the constant distraction of friends chatting online, it is nearly impossible to tell yourself when to stop. Apps like Snapchat already distract students from getting things done, but House Party is worse because it is always live.

While the House Party app distracts from homework at home, its problems also prevail in class. Many use it while they are with friends, creating an antisocial environment, which excludes those who are not on the app. Although the idea of constant communication is enticing, it takes focus off the present and feeds the technology addiction students already have.