Switched has a new home! Huffpost Tech.

Click here to visit the new home of Switched!

Hot on HuffPost Tech:

See More Stories
AOL Tech

Google CEO Urges Graduates to Unplug and Get Outside

by Warren Riddle on May 19, 2009 at 04:22 PM

Teenagers and college students have grown accustomed to hearing their elders implore them to turn off their gadgets and unplug their game consoles -- even young technophiles should enjoy the sun and some genuine human to human contact from time to time. Graduates at the University of Pennsylvania received the same message at their recent commencement ceremony, but from a very unexpected source.

Giving the commencement address in Philadelphia on Monday, Google CEO Eric Schmidt told graduates to "turn off your computers," urging the departing students to "discover all that is human around us." He also tried to assuage students' fears about the job hunt in the midst of an economic recession, advising them to use the financial turmoil as a source of inspiration and innovation. Schmidt pointed out that some of the essential items of college life -- Rice Krispies, Twinkies, and beer cans -- were all born of the Great Depression.

Google has earned its reputation for being eclectic -- such as the time it used goats as lawnmowers at the company headquarters -- but we're throwing our pieces in with Schmidt here, for all that's worth. Those innovators at Google didn't create a Web empire by trolling Facebook -- they did it with their minds, which, incredibly, do not require Wi-Fi access to function. [From: FOXNews]

Tags: ericschmidt, students, top

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.

HuffPost AOL Social News Most Popular