Colin McKnight
From physically damaging our devices to flushing online security down the drain, we are doing a terrible job at keeping track of our technology. Before you continue to shed years off of your expensive laptop, try changing your habits now.
My own laptop is close to its end; in fact, I probably need to start shopping online now for a new, reasonably cheaper replacement before this one’s inevitable death wheeze. While part of the blame must be placed on the laptop itself — it’s never exactly been very cooperative, and has always had a tendency for random reboots — I must acknowledge, for the sake of my next laptop’s well-being, that the rest of the blame for this device’s relatively short lifespan has to go to my mishandling of the computer.
I have seen others here at NC State commit these same mistakes that I have. Slamming your backpack with your laptop in it down on the ground, spilling food and drinks on your smartphone and many other terrible tech sins. I hope you are not all so this carefree when it comes to your devices — or else your wallet might be the one feeling the strain.
When it comes to the handling of your devices, it is wise to treat it like the fragile system that it really is. Taking an extra second to make sure that your laptop is safely put away and secured inside your backpack or bag will make a difference in the long run. And whatever you do, don’t drop it. If that doesn’t destroy it right away, it will, at least, definitely take some precious time off of its lifespan.
The physical mistreatment of their devices is not the only mistake that college students often commit with their technology, although it’s the most noticeable. A massive danger that many students often ignore is not being careful when it comes to their online security.
Gabe Simerson, a technology support technician at the Office of Information Technology at NC State, stated that one of the most common problems that they handle is that, “people aren’t secure. A lot of times they aren’t careful with what they click on, so a lot of times I see a lot of malware and spyware — stuff that shouldn’t be installed on their computer.”
This should definitely serve as a warning to many students. College students are very active on the internet, and usually they have many personal accounts across a vast amount of websites. Some of these accounts are especially important for work or school, and the consequences of them being hacked could be devastating.
The best strategy is to take precautions to avoid these kinds of viruses. Find yourself a trusted and reliable virus protection program, never give out information to a website that you are not extremely familiar with and be cognizant of the websites that you’re clicking on. You might have heard these tips 1,000 times before, but that doesn’t mean that they are any less important.
Finally, always have another option available in case your device crashes at a bad time. Back up your work and keep copies of important documents in more than one place, like flash drives. Also, always have a few bucks available on your Wolfpack One Card so that in case your printer stops working, you can dash over to the nearest public printer. These are just some examples of contingency plans that you should have in mind in case the dreaded “blue screen of death” ever pops up on your PC.
The repercussions of malfunctioning technology can be seen everywhere on a college campus. Just keep your eyes and ears open for one minute before class starts and you will hear murmurs of “My phone isn’t charging” and “Yeah, I lost, like, an hour of work.”
These are the kind of problems that a college student cannot afford to have, what with our deadlines and schedules. Take care of your devices’ “mental and physical” health and reap the benefits of working technology.