Computers, phones and stereos have been running away from desks.

No, they aren’t being stolen, and they haven’t grown legs.

Since the year 2000, all things portable — including laptops, cell phones and mp3 players — have become more and more popular, replacing desktop computers, cordless phones and stereos, according to Leslie Dare, director of distance education and technology services.

“People are interested in being able to have the technology with them all the time,” she said.

And students have grown up with this attitude, Dare said, as part of a generation of “digital natives.” From this point forward, she said, anyone who goes to college will have grown up with the technologies.

As a fifth-year senior in computer science, C.J. Soques said he has noticed a significant increase in the use of portable devices — especially computers — among students. He said this has stemmed from the availability of wireless internet access on campus.

When he came to N.C. State as a freshman, Soques brought both a laptop and a desktop. He said his roommate brought a desktop as well.

This was an inconvenience, he said, in his junior year.

“[My roommate is] in computer science with me. We were doing a team project and we would always meet in Centennial Campus our junior year. He was the only one of us who didn’t have a laptop and couldn’t get work done,” he said.

Carrying the tunesSoques also brought an mp3 player with him to college, but said he was one of few of his friends who did.

Dare, who went to college in the 1980’s, remembers the start of the Walkman craze. The difference, she said, is the capability of mp3 players like the iPod to hold entire music collections. Gone are the days of listening to one mix CD during a workout. And, Dare said, more students are listening to music between classes.

“I don’t think you saw that trend with the Walkman or even with the portable CD players in the 90s,” she said.

The sheer number of songs on an iPod isn’t the only factor contributing to the trend. The battery life and the ability to charge devices is part of the convenience, according to Mitzi Montoya, a Zelnak professor of marketing and innovation.

Integrating the devicesWhile portable devices are becoming commonplace, they aren’t just easy to transport — they are also compatible with each other.

“Interactivity [between devices] is a big shift,” Stan North Martin, director of communications, consulting and outreach, said.

Even video game units are serving multiple purposes.

“You hook your computer up to your TV, you use your Xbox to get online — not just to play games,” he said.

Cell phone capabilities, he said, are part of this. Phones aren’t just being used to make phone calls, but also to send text messages. What can be accomplished in a voice mail message can be accomplished in a text — and it’s less intrusive, according to Martin.

One new phone does more than that. The iPhone, Dare said, embodies the phrase “all in one.”

A generation of multi-taskersOne of the main characteristics of a “digital native” is the desire to multi-task, Dare said. And with more and newer technologies available, there are plenty of opportunities to do so.

Dare said students are skilled at multitasking — and better than some might think. And, the “digital immigrants” are less likely to do so.

Montoya recounted a teleconference Tuesday morning during which she used various technologies at once.

“I was…on a phone call with three people — someone who was in England, New York and California. [I was] simultaneously web casting, working on a project, looking up information, and chatting online to get work done,” she said. “I got something done in an hour that previously might have taken two weeks to do.”

But do the benefits outweigh the negatives?

Some, Montoya said, would say no.

“Some would argue we are a society of distractions,” she said. “We can’t sit and focus on things and think in a different way.”

Another drawback, according to Montoya, comes when this practice of multitasking prevents cautious driving.

“We have developed relatively short attention spans as we multitask — we try to do too many things at once. People are driving around talking on the phone and listening to their iPods. There are plenty of studies that say that’s not the safest thing,” she said.

There is something to be said for simplicity, Montoya said.