The expression "Hold the phone" is becoming a bit more literal lately.
Phone calls are becoming increasingly obsolete as a quiet revolution sweeps across the Gothic Wonderland, only heard through the clicking of computer keys and the application of the occasional :) or :(.
Mirabilis ICQ-representing the phrase "I seek you"-is a fairly new computer program that provides chat options, games and file transfer, to name just a few amenities. But for a growing number of University students, the free service is primarily used as a way to keep in touch with only a click of the mouse.
One of ICQ's most basic features allows a user to create a list of other program users. Member-to-member communication works through messages that flash on the screen or split-screen conversation.
The company's creators claim on their website that "ICQ is a revolutionary, user-friendly Internet tool that informs you who's on-line at any time and enables you to contact them at will."
With the offer of free and easy communication, many students say ICQ dependence is a common phenomenon.
"A girl in my dorm said that I wouldn't graduate if I got ICQ, and I didn't understand until I started using it," said Trinity junior Lenis Chen. Even so, Chen continues to use the service for four-way chats with friends in different states, or simply to drop Duke friends a quick hello.
Trinity junior Stephanie Weissman is well aware of the time drain that comes with ICQ, but is unwilling to forego minutes-even minutes that are precious to a jam-packed college schedule. "I do waste time talking to friends (most of my friends have it now)," she wrote in an e-mail, "but it's fun."
Adding friends to a growing buddy list is a common practice among students, particularly among freshmen trying to keep up with old friends-and build relationships with new ones.
"ICQ is a great way to keep in touch with people from both home and school," said Andrew Lotze, an engineering freshman who has approximately 65 people on his list. Although he admits that the program can become addictive, he also said, "It's easy to use and just convenient."
Kevin Cheung, an engineering junior who works at the Office of Information Technology help desk and is co-chair of Duke Student Government's computing committee, believes that moderation is key. "Communication via the Internet in many circumstances is quicker, cheaper and may be more convenient than other traditional communication mediums," he added.
But some students say that the typed and electronically written word can be dangerous.
"There have been misunderstandings," Weissman said. "I have said something to someone before and they took it wrong because they interpreted it with a different tone than I meant."
ICQ, however, can lead to more serious consequences than miscommunication.
As Trinity sophomore Megan Miller knows, using the program with friends can lead to encounters with computer intruders. Miller received a file through the program and, believing to be from a friend, she opened the attachment. In the process she became the victim of a hacker. "He initially got to me through ICQ, but because of that he started going straight through my computer," she said.
Calling himself 'Digital Chaos,' the hacker proceeded to inundate Miller with strange messages, made her screen go blank and opened and closed her CD-ROM drive.
Although the hacker did not ruin any files, the intrusiveness was enough to show Miller that even ICQ has its limitations. "There are so many people across the country using ICQ," she said. "You have to be very careful."
Other users have found potential romance through ICQ and its smiley faces and "LOLs."
Trinity sophomore Julisa Espinoza said her friend from Emory University spoke with a stranger over the program for nine months and spent all summer earning money to visit him in Canada.
Although their relationship did not develop, Espinoza's friend has moved on to another ICQ love. "[ICQ] gives them a virtual friend that they can idealize according to what they learn about the person through the click of the 'send' button."
According University students and CNET, a web site devoted to computer technology, the resounding clicking of computer conversation will not go away any time soon.
"True, the piercing 'uh-oh!' sound that heralds an incoming message is unsettling," the magazine says. "But judging from the massive numbers of users downloading the program... ICQ is no mere trend-it's the trendsetter."
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