There's an app for that

With the proliferation of applications on cell phones, it is no surprise that applications, also called apps, have become widely used by Norwich students, both on and off campus on a daily basis, according to students.

 Liz Spears, 21, a senior English major from San Francisco, Calif., said her favorite app is "Facebook, because I can use it on my phone." This portability is convenient because, "I don't have to worry about using my laptop or carting it around," Spears said.

 The Facebook app was also mentioned by Lauren Lebel, 21, a senior nursing major from St. Albans, Vt. When Lebel was asked what apps were particularly distracting or hindering, she said, "Facebook! Obviously a lot of extra time is spent on that than what's needed."

 Molly Seaberg, a 20-year-old junior elementary education and English major from Moretown, Vt., also named Facebook as a favorite; "It's almost not even an app. I feel like it should come with the phone so then I'd probably say the Google app, which should also come with the phone."

 Seaberg concluded that her favorite app is the Google app, where she gets all her information. However, there are some things she would change: "I would probably put it back to how it was originally, now it's kind of confusing, whereas before, it was just like Google on the computer."

 Even the distracting apps have their place in the realm of students' favorite apps. Kelsey Monroe, 21, a senior criminal justice major from Mendon, Mass., says her favorite app is Tickle, because "it is a push-to-talk system, kind of like a walkie-talkie. You just push to talk to any of your contacts that have the same app. It's a lot of fun."

 One of the less practical, but well-known, apps is Angry Birds. Although seen as a distraction by some, it is a favorite of Brittany Ramsay, 20, a junior criminal justice major from northern Vermont. Ramsay plays Angry Birds because it "gives you something to do when you're bored and waiting for something."

 Although some people may not have a lot of free time to play an exciting game of Angry Birds, Ramsay said, "I don't have a set time that I play it, usually if I'm early to something," which, she said, happens every day.

 Monroe said that Angry Birds plays a different role in her life. "Angry Birds is incredibly distracting and hindering. It causes all kinds of issues everywhere."

 Lebel said that her favorite app is "called My Fitness Pal; it tracks your workouts and everything you do and what you eat and your calories, so it's kind of like a weight-loss tool."

 She added, "It works really well. It's effective, and it has a databank, with information in it. … you can scan the barcode on the actual food and it knows what it is and puts it right in for you," Lebel said,

 With apps, as with any new technology, there are also frustrations. Lebel said that her biggest frustration is that "a lot of them look good when you go to download it, but then you open it and you realize it's not worth the time or space."

 Monroe said her biggest frustration "would probably be the amount of space [apps] take up on my phone."

 Apps play a large role in the life of some students. Monroe has maps, Google, Facebook, games, music, a scanner, as well as a planner that helps her keep her life on track. Monroe said that with the planner app, she can line up everything she's doing for her days and it alerts her when she needs to get something done so she's always on time.

Seaberg also said, "My boyfriend downloaded all these apps that are kind of silly. Like the mood finger scanner. I mean they're kind of fun, but now they're just on there and I haven't deleted them because he uses them."

Seaberg also said she has difficulty "trying to find the good ones. But I want the free version, and so they're never the good version."