_{by Amy Wolf}

It seems these days young people can’t live without their cell phones, iPods, laptops, gaming systems and, especially, television. Vanderbilt professor Bruce Barry is putting that theory to the test.

Barry, a professor of management and sociology, is challenging a class of students to go 24 hours without using any media or technology.

“I told my students, ‘If you plug it in or it has a battery, don’t use it,’” he said. “It’s easier to engage students in critical thinking about how technology affects their lives if they get a snapshot of what it’s like to live without it.”

The students have from Thursday, Jan. 25, until Tuesday, Jan. 30, to pick a 24-hour window to go electronics-free. On Jan. 30 the students will come together to discuss what it is like for a generation so immersed in technology to go without it.

_{Posted 01/26/07}