In the age of convenience, anything slowing people down will also try

their patience.

Obstacles like slow walkers on campus and slow drivers on the streets can throw people into a frenzy. When papers and homework assignments are due in two hours and everything is moving too slowly, a burning rage can

bubble up.

Internet rage is the new term being used for the feelings people get when pages are not loading along the Internet highway fast enough.

Richard Hudiburg, department chair and professor of psychology, said it is more of a frustration than rage.

“I don’t tend to say its rage until people actually engage in a certain behavior,”

Hudiburg said.

When people get so upset they break their device and then instantly regret it is an example, he said.

“I think a lot people suffer frustration with the Internet because they just don’t understand a lot of how it works,” he said. “I usually use the analogy, ‘I don’t care how a car works as long as I put my key in it and

it starts.’”

Sophomore Jamal Kennedy said he gets frustrated when his Internet connection

does not work.

“When I’m trying to do work on an assignment or trying to turn something in and it’s not going as fast as it can, then the assignment could be late because the Internet keeps messing up,” he said.

Part of the frustration also comes from having more responsibilities online, which means more people online. Product marketing also makes us think we are getting information faster, Hudiburg said.

“The problem is the more we use the Internet, the slower it gets,” he said.

Sophomore Lily Mitchell said her roommate takes online classes and cannot get any work done when the Internet

is down.

“The time you need it seems to be the time it doesn’t work,” Mitchell said.

A person may have the “I pay for it so it should be available and it should work” attitude, but so do a million other people, Hudiburg said.

Freshman Kristina McMahan said she thinks Internet should move quickly.

“This is a fast-paced world and it just needs to stay that way,” she said.

Most often what people think they need right now is not critical, but they like it that way, Hudiburg said. People want

instant gratification.

“Our expectations tend to be that it should always be that way,” he said.

The current generation may be more impatient because they are used to getting things faster, he said.

Kennedy said he disagrees and people of all ages are this way.

“I think everybody wants to get things done quickly, efficiently and out of the way,” he said. “That’s just how we are.”

Visuals showing download time may help with frustration, Hudiburg said.

“Research has shown that people will be more patient if they get visual feedback of what’s going to happen,” he said.

Lack of planning and waiting until the last minute to complete tasks can add to the frustration, he said.

Mitchell said she agrees procrastinating when an assignment is due or not having the time to get it done causes a problem. She said she thinks having a plan is always beneficial.

“If the Internet goes down, we won’t be in a panic mode and we can have our assignments done as needed,” she said.

People do not realize how much Internet traffic there is at any given time, Hudiburg said.

“The Internet is being used more and in certain cases the only way you can do something,” he said.

Knowing when the slow times are and planning to use the Internet at a different time is helpful, Hudiburg said. These times are when people are not streaming movies and doing assignments.

“Remember others are using the Internet at the same time, so things may be slow,” he said.