With a new semester brings new chances to meet people and make friends. But technology can get in the way. It’s during these situations that certain personalities surface, proceeding to annoy everyone around them. Following are four tech jerks that you should both avoid being around and becoming.
The Wi-fi Hog
Despite what we were all told on our tours of UT, not every floor of the dorms has wi-fi. So some students bring routers to create their own hot spots where UT’s putters out.
Usually you’re in luck living near one of these net-bearers. But some people can get stingy, and this is where the Wi-fi Hog marks his territory. For whatever reason (less lag during “Call of Duty”, faster movie downloads, paranoia) some Spartans may lock their networks and not share the key with anyone, not even their roommates.
Come on, bro. Not cool. You’re blatantly establishing a “mine versus yours” environment in a room where up to four people’s asses share the same toilet seat. That’s going to be problematic.
Net security is one thing, but hording a hotspot all for yourself is another. A suggestion: pass the key to your roomies and people you meet and trust that ask for it on your floor.
Who knows, it might get you a free beverage one night. “You’re the dude that gave us wi-fi on our floor. Dude, lemme get you a cold one.”
The Common-Room TV Overlord
A 64-inch Sony plasma TV in the common room? Sweet mother of Sykes, the roommate who brought that should be your new best friend. That is, unless, they get all Nazi Germany on your ass.
It’s thoughtful and convenient when a roommate adds something to the common room. A mini-fridge, microwave, or a poster of Angelina Jolie in a thong are things everyone can enjoy. A TV shouldn’t be any different.
The argument always comes up: “It’s my TV. I bought it. I can use it whenever I want.” This, of course, is preceded by a fight between roommates currently watching a football game and the buyer of the TV wanting to interrupt to watch the latest episode of “Cake Boss.”
It’s a sticky situation, but the fact is if it’s in the common room, it’s up for grabs.
The Boomer
Hi, I pay over $100,000 to go to UT for four years. I expect my classes to be informative and worthwhile. Distractions are not acceptable.
I’m talking to you, guy with headphones blaring during class. It’s cool if you don’t care about wasting “your” (read “your parent’s”) money by blowing off a class you find frivolous. But don’t bring me into your lackluster approach to education.
If you’re going to play your music during class and still want a willing study-buddy by the end of the semester for all the material you’ve missed (or someone that even tells you the time), you’ve got two options: A) Play your music at a library whisper or B) Pick music that doesn’t suck. None of that Kanye West, Lady Ga Ga bull.
The Oblivious Gossip
“And I was all like, ‘Are you kidding me? When Cindy was done in there it reeked worse than the Hillsborough River. Like totally.’” This type of conversation or a myriad of text-tapping can be heard in Salsa Rico or Jazzman’s lines on campus.
I’m not one of those people that thinks texting and talking on the phone is “what’s wrong with this generation,” a “waste of time,” or “the devil.” But there’s a time and place for everything.
The problem with the Oblivious Gossip is that they talk or text at the worst time, i.e. when communicating to another people face-to-face is necessary.
The oblivious gossip will inevitably be in front of me at Salsa Rico, not paying attention to the worker asking for their order. This not only holds the line up, but ticks the worker off just enough to put half the beans on my burrito than there should be–and I love my beans–because they’re venting about how young people don’t have any respect any more.
Just put the person on mute for a second. Or put the texting on pause. People will appreciate you a lot more for it– both restaurant workers and students.
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