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Acknowledging technology's limits, more than 8 in 10 say it's better to resolve conflicts with people in person. By large margins, students say they prefer face-to-face conversations over networking sites or texting for seeking help with personal issues, supporting others with problems or telling friends they're upset with them. "It's better to talk," said John Gettas, 21, a senior at James Madison. "You can actually hear the inflection in their voice." Even so, many hide behind technology. About 7 in 10 have engaged in arguments using only text messages, about half have used technology to avoid in-person confrontations, and about 6 in 10 frequently track someone by repeatedly checking their social networking site. How ingrained is technology in students' lives? Nearly all got e-mail in the past week, three-quarters got sports or entertainment news online, and about two-thirds said they'd gotten information on current events. Roughly 4 in 10 played Internet games or shopped. Using computers, cell phones or gaming consoles is time-consuming, with just over half saying they devote two to six hours daily to such devices. A third use them for six hours or more. Nearly 4 in 10 students say they are connected to 500 or more friends on their social networks, though a majority say they interact little with most of them. The AP-mtvU poll was conducted Sept. 20-24 by Edison Research of Somerville, N.J. It is based on questionnaires completed by 2,207 randomly chosen undergraduate students at 40 randomly selected four-year schools with at least 1,000 undergraduates. To protect privacy, the schools involved are not being identified and students were not asked for their names. The survey has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. The sponsorship of the survey by mtvU, an MTV channel oriented to college students, is related to its "Half of Us" program, which it runs with the Jed Foundation, aimed at raising awareness about mental health issues among college students. ___ Online: AP polls: http://surveys.ap.org/
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