When I read this, I was less than surprised.

So I saw this infographic on Mashable.com...

and I just said, "Well, yea obviously."

How many times have you heard a news report, seen an article, heard a 50+ year old person say that college students cannot do anything without technology.  And my answer is the same resounding, "Well, yea obviously."  The infographic went on to throw out facts such as "73% of college students said they cannot study without technology" and "70% of students use keyboards to take notes (no more paper)."

At first glance, those facts that were meant to make us out to be some sort of completely dependent slaves to the internet/smartphone, were actually telling me something a bit different.  To me, its saying that modern college students are actually more efficient by finding easier ways to access all types of information at a rapid pace, we are inadvertently tree-huggers by going paper-free, and most importantly, this is great for internet advertisers.

From an online advertising standpoint, the more time college students spend "depending" on the internet and technology, the more confirmation that it is a virtually propelling market.  According to a journal article from Education Resources Information Center called "The Internet Goes to College," studies from 27 colleges and universities have shown these main findings:

•  College students have adopted and heavily use the internet early on

•  College students feel that the Internet has actually enhanced their education

•  They agree that their college social life has been altered by the Internet

What does one have to do with the other?  With the 12 million college students that already take online classes, and the projected 22 million that will join in the next 5 years as predicted by the aforementioned infographic, being in advertising, especially on the internet, opportunities are about to double.  With a huge stronghold in the connection between college students, technology, and education, advertisers can use that seamless gap to connect with a huge world of a dependent audience.  So, yes, I can say that I was not in any way surprised by the information the infographic or article had, but I was in no way offended.  In fact, for any person that is in advertising, this is just the type of thing that I want to hear.

Source:

Jones, Steve.  "The Internet Goes to College:  How Students Are Living in the Future with Today's Technology."  Pew Internet and American Life Project.  ERIC Education Resources Information Center.  September 15, 2002.  http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/detail?accno=ED472669