I really was trying to concentrate in "Introduction to Economics" the other day. I swear. But I was distracted. My eyes were drawn away from Prof. Michael Coiner's (ECON) very useful graphs on the blackboard and fixed on the computer screen in front of me as my fellow student clicked his way through some girl's hundred-something tagged Facebook pictures."Does he have no shame?" I wondered. Yet I too was glued to the screen, helpless as precious information about the gross domestic product deflator formula passed me by, never to offer me valuable insight into macroeconomic principles again.

I can imagine the student's thought process. Every day, he walks into class and asks himself, "Do I feel like paying attention today or looking at pictures of vintage cars?" Almost the instant our professor begins introducing the day's lecture, the student logs onto Facebook, skims headlines on CNN.com and checks his e-mail. Forty minutes into the class, he's finally exhausted all his go-to websites and blogs. By the time he's reached StumbleUpon.com, I've realized something interesting: My neighbor would rather be taken on a wild goose chase to remote corners of the Internet than pay attention to the professor for another 10 minutes.

I have even seen people walk into class, take their seats and immediately log onto Facebook before the professor even says a word. A strange, subconscious rationale operates behind the mindset of these students. Such people automatically assume that the class they are about to sit through will not be worth their full attention, and they utilize their various Internet resources to pass the hour.

Surfing the net in class is no new phenomenon, of course. We're all guilty of looking through friend's pictures, checking sports stats, reading blogs or browsing The New York Times on those days when class just seems to drag on.

I don't know why, but based on my own observation, it feels as though Brandeis students are opting out of paying attention in class and are spending more class time on the Internet. It might be that last year my classmates were mostly first-years, who seem to be somewhat more humbled in the presence of their professors than the more-jaded upperclassmen and are more eager to stay engaged. Whatever the reason, the basic problems are obvious: Laptop use in class is a distraction to you and to other people around you. It's also disrespectful to the professor, even if it doesn't seem like they notice, and it is a waste of the tuition money you are paying to attend that class.

It's not just about Facebook. Our generation largely considers the Internet a means of entertainment. It's almost impossible not to-who can resist a link to a YouTube video of some kittens riding on a vacuum cleaner, even in the middle of a crucial lecture?

Nonetheless, there remains something about Facebook use in class that strikes me as particularly disrespectful beyond the obvious fact that most people use Facebook for what can only be described as nonacademic discourse. It sends the message that the student in question is not only bored by this class but also considers his or her social life to be more important than whatever the professor is trying to discuss.

Though most people don't intend to be disrespectful, I think there is an inadvertent arrogance that comes with Facebook use during class. Factually speaking, it is pretty unlikely that whatever your former best friend from middle school did last weekend is genuinely more interesting than your professor's lecture. The professor has studied this material for years. He's probably written a book on the topic. Even if the subject covers the most esoteric, seemingly useless information you think you'll ever come across during your academic career, professors deserve students' attention simply because they are smart people who want to share their knowledge with you. Really, it's kind of an honor. And to avoid sounding like a genuine nerd, I think as students we should pay some respect to the field of knowledge itself. Some of the strongest minds of the past decades, or even centuries, have dedicated their lives to exploring the material we study in class. Even if the material is going straight over your head, why not show tribute to these greats by sitting up a little straighter and closing Facebook chat? I cringe with guilt at the thought that Socrates willingly drank hemlock to defend the same ideas that I half-listened to in class last semester because I was busy reading Gawker. It may not feel this way at times on a modern college campus, but as Brandeis students, we are all part of the centuries-old Western tradition of academia. We belong to an establishment that has acted as a safeguard in the pursuit of knowledge and truth for ages. It may just be because I never really participated in group sports in high school, but this makes me feel like I am part of something.

I don't think professors should ban laptops in class. Laptops are a great resource for finding information provide an easier way to take notes. But I think that as students we should bear in mind the ethics of intentionally diverting our attention away from classwork during class time. I have all day to surf around Facebook but only 50 or 80 minutes of golden face time with my professor, and I'd like to make the most of that.