Harrisburg University of Science and Technology bans Web 2.0 apps for one week

Documentation of an interesting experiment where all students were requested to avoid using Facebook and Twitter for one week. They will be later surveyed and reflect upon their experiences without these web 2.0 resources.

Harrisburg University of Science and Technology bans Web2.0 apps for one week
http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/09/13/5101516-university-bans-facebook-twitter-for-one-week

QUOTE: If you pass through Pennsylvania's Harrisburg University of Science and Technology this week and see some glassy-eyed, numbed and twitching students walking around, they aren't stressed from an early onslaught of all-nighters.

They're probably dealing with withdrawal from a week-long ban on Facebook, Twitter and IM's imposed campus-wide by Provost Eric Darr, who is conducting the experiment as an exercise that will culminate in a survey and students writing essays about their experience. Faculty and staff won't have access either, at least not through the campus system.

One thing is for sure: the experiment is inspiring a lot of chatter on those networks. It's already burning up on Twitter. In an interview this morning, Darr told me that this experiment is not a criticism of social media, but about observing habits and behaviors in the way we use technology.