FCC Chairman Counsels Students to Be Moderate With Digital Media

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski welcomed students back to school by asking them to walk a line: use technology to learn, but don't get distracted by it.

He said that with high-speed Internet, “a student anywhere can have access to the best libraries, the best teachers, the best tutors in the world.” He went on to say that the use of mobile broadband could allow access to digital textbooks and “interactive learning tools.” But Chairman Genachowski also said that “as with every revolution, broadband Internet brings not only real opportunities but some real concerns.” Chiefly, he said policy makers and parents should be concerned about the potential for distraction; he said that research shows that the average teenager consumes 11 hours of media content a day, and sends a text every 10 minutes he or she is awake.