they can't be held accountable."
Susan Gauch, professor of computer science at the University of Kansas, focuses on Internet safety, and as a parent, she sees other potential problems.
"People reveal more than they realize in away messages," she says. "They mention activities, their school, and even if there is no name or number, they can still be found."
A staple in communication "I'll be back soon"
Students' addictions to away messages may not be cured soon, but Jacobson doesn't think it's a bad thing. Initial skeptics worried that online communication would undermine face-to-face conversations, he says. But if it does anything, it supplements face-to-face communication. "They had the same initial concern about the phone or the telegraph, but now people would never say that and we're getting to that point with the Internet," he says.
The number of people who use away messages after college drops dramatically, Jacobson says, when they get caught up in socializing and work.
But that may be changing, too.
"I use them to express creativity," says Tracy Davis, KU alumna. "And also to show people that I am doing something." She has about 200 buddies on her list. Away messages help Davis stay in touch with friends from other states. It also improves her communication with people she wouldn't regularly talk to on the phone.
Davis, an independent contractor for event planning in Dallas, Texas, doesn't think age matters when it comes to using away messages. "I think it just depends on how busy you are," she says. "I mean my sister will use it and she's 25."
"In the room, just not staring at the screen waiting for you to IM be b/c I would just be disappointed... since, clearly you are reading my away message instead of lming me :-D"