Almost every student uses AOL Instant Messanger to keep in touch with friends at the College, former high school classmates and significant others. But did you know there are other, more high-tech ways to stay in touch?
p. Skype is a downloadable internet program that features free IMs and computer-to-computer telephone calls between anyone who has the program.
p. βItβs really easy to set up and download. If I can do it, anyone can do it,β Jenny Hoover β08, who studied abroad in Cambridge, U.K. last summer, said.
p. Many students at the College who go abroad depend on Skype or similar programs such as I-Ball Chat or AIM to stay in touch with their friends. All three programs offer the possibility of voice and conversations. βIt was only 10 cents a minute to [phone] home from Europe, but that adds up,β Hoover said.
p. Katie McCown β09, currently abroad in Essex, U.K., agreed. βBecause Skype is free, as opposed to long distance calls on a cell phone, I can talk as long as I want,β she said. βIf I didnβt have it, I would be stuck talking to them through AIM or e-mail because it costs too much to call the States on a mobile.β
p. Skype proves useful for students outside the United States. βI used Skype with my American friends who were abroad with me because calling between our cell phones there cost 30 cents a minute,β Hoover said.
p. Katie Corcoran β08 used Skype while abroad in Salzburg, Austria last spring. She says she still uses the program βto keep in touch with my friends who are still in Europe, since they donβt have AIM.β
p. Corcoran also makes creative use of one of the games offered for free on Skype. βI play hangman with a friend from Germany over Skype because it helps him with his English,β Corcoran said.
Hoover advised students to set up Skype before leaving home, both on their own computers and on the computers of the people they are planning on talking to most. βThere are no Best Buys in Europe and there are different computers over there,β Hoover said. βAnd once you get there, you just want to talk to people, not struggle with setting up your computer.β
p. A lesser-known aspect of Skype is that it can be used to cheaply call landline phones from a personal computer. This is useful for staying in touch with relatives who donβt want to work Skype or who donβt have computers.
p. This is exactly what McCown did. While Skype is most commonly used for IM and voice conversations, it can also be used to talk with others via webcam. βI downloaded Skype on my familyβs computer before I left and they bought a webcam as well,β McCown said. βWhenever I talk to them, itβs almost like Iβm at home because they can see me and I can see them.β
p. Despite the popularity of Skype, relying on technology to stay in touch does have its downside. Kurt Steinhouse β08 studied abroad in Rome last semester, but didnβt have internet in his apartment. βI had to lug my laptop all the way to school to talk to people,β Steinhouse said.
p. In addition to this challenge, the internet at school wasnβt always reliable. βI didnβt have internet for two weeks after I got there,β he said. βI felt so disconnected from everyone.β
p. Corcoran reported a similar problem. βIβve started to rely on [technology], so when my friendβs computer crashed I didnβt talk to her for like two weeks,β Corcoran said.
p. Another downside to Skype is the possibility of receiving IMs and phone calls from random people. βOne time this guy from Egypt Skyped me and Iβd never heard of him,β Corcoran said. βItβs really intrusive and I donβt answer calls like that.β
p. Corcoran also has a good friend who has been repeatedly Skyped by a man who lives in Mexico and uses the screename βMoist.β She admitted that she hadnβt installed privacy settings on her Skype account and that if she had done so, she might have prevented some of these random calls.
p. Hoover commented on the changes in communication brought about by technology. βThe only sad thing about technology is that a lot of it gets lost, so youβll never have it,β Hoover said, referring to e-mails and IMs that eventually disappear into cyberspace. βThereβs something nice about a handwritten letter.β
p. Hoover currently uses the program to keep in touch with her boyfriend in St. Louis, Mo. βI have limited minutes on my cell phone, so we use Skype,β Hoover said.
p. Hoover also said that using a webcam through Skype is especially helpful because the added component of seeing who you are talking to makes that person feel a bit closer. βItβs nice to see someone if theyβre far away,β Hoover said.
p. McCown agreed. βSeeing faces rather than just talking on cell phones really does make a difference while abroad,β she said. βIt has also been really helpful in alleviating any homesickness I may have experienced initially.β
p. Nonetheless, the webcam is not without its challenges. Several students were embarrassed to admit their use of the webcam because people who are new to it think it sounds sketchy. βI hate the connotation with webcam,β Hoover said. People are always a little like βmmm?ββ
p. In addition to social perception, webcamming makes one thing trickier that the phone does not: βYou also want to look nice when youβre using the webcam. Itβs difficult if you look awful,β Hoover said, referring to those bad hair days that donβt matter when talking to someone over the phone.
p. The overall feeling among students at the College is that technology such as Skype and the webcam is a blessing. βIn a strange way, Iβve been able to stay in better contact with my family and friends [while abroad] than when Iβm at William and Mary because I donβt actually feel so removed from their lives,β McCown said.