“Now I Do Academic Fast Food”: Grad Students in the ICT’s Era

Abstract

Together with the widespread use of Information and communication Technologies (ICTs), global changes have taken place in most social environments. This article stands at the intersection of communication and education studies, by investigating the introduction and use of ICTs in students’ learning and everyday life. The aim of our research, indeed, is to explore the transformations in learning and academic information processing habits among students part of the School of Philosophy and Literature and that of Social Sciences at Buenos Aires University. Methodologically, we gathered targeted interviews with students and professors from said faculties (n: 140). Moreover, we undertook on-site observations at university libraries and virtual observations on social network sites and university websites. From the findings a paradox concerning the intensive use of ICTs emerges: greater accessibility, availability and information exchange lead to degrees of ‘distraction’, ‘superficiality’ and ‘speed’ in the fruition and circulation of content. Based on a native category, we have come to call this tendency “academic fast food”.