Social media blackout wins converts at college

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A small Pennsylvania college says its weeklong blackout of social media won over some skeptical students who initially disapproved of the experiment.

Forty-two percent of students responding to in-house surveys at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology ended up supporting the exercise that blocked sites like Twitter and Facebook on campus. That compares with 23 percent approval before the September blackout.

Results released Friday also show that 25 percent of respondents reported better classroom concentration that week.

Provost Eric Darr says that while the results aren't exactly scientific, they still show that social media "can take over your life."

Officials at the 800-student school temporarily blocked the sites on campus to make students and faculty think critically about the role of social media in their lives.

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