What app are you using?

Enjoying the summer not only means getting outside but also includes staying connected, and there are many devices and apps that are an integral part of the lives of high school and college students.

Used to text, access social media, perform internet searches and many other tasks; smartphones are another important device for the high school and college crowd. Many students claim they “can’t function” for even an hour without their smartphone. Apple’s device, the iPhone, is the most popular.

Lenny Khazan, who is headed off to Yale University in the fall, said that people he knows who were using school-issued laptops have shifted to their own personal devices: Apple’s MacBook Pro and Air being the most popular.

On all of these devices, people use apps to help with travel, get movie times, find restaurants, order food and more. “I use Google to get all of that information,” Khazan said, when asked what apps he used over the summer.

Queens College junior Sarah Fuchs who is in the Macaulay Honors program supported Khazan’s contention and added that laptops, tablets and smartphones are used daily by her peers.

The Google App is available on Android and iOS and makes accessing the powerful search tools of Google even easier. Users are able to get instant answers to questions, movie times, weather and even directions for driving, walking, public transportation or biking — and even include updated traffic information. The app is also able to search for places nearby such as restaurants. Many restaurants have their menus accessible directly through the Google App.

Another popular app for movies is Fandango, it provides movie times, and shows movie trailers and reviews, and allows users to buy tickets. With PayPal integration, payment is easy and friends can split purchases. Credit cards can also be used.

The most popular app for ordering food is GrubHub; it offers the full menus of many restaurants across the country with little or no delivery fees. Payment is simple with the option being credit cards and PayPal. With more than 50 restaurants in the Five Towns and hundreds in Manhattan, eateries are easy to find on GrubHub.

With less homework and studying, travelling becomes increasingly popular with students as well. Uber and Lyft, both available for iOS and Android, are the most popular apps for transportation.

With these apps, users simply plug in the location to which they wish to travel and request a car. Drivers across the country are registered with Uber and Lyft and, when a nearby user requests a ride, the driver can accept the ride.

Since many high school students do not have cars and/or drivers licenses yet, these apps become very valuable for their summer plans. “I use Uber when I need to go somewhere and have no other way of getting there,” said James Verschleiser, who is heading into his senior year at Hewlett High School. “With its convenience and ease of use, Uber is a great app for transportation.”

With many students traveling around the world, texting and many other standard forms of communication do not work overseas. Communication apps that work using Wi-Fi are essential. The most popular such app is Whatsapp.

However, Facebook Messenger, Skype, and Google Hangouts all work as well. These apps all allow for communication through Wi-Fi and work overseas on smartphones, laptops and tablets. Whatsapp however, requires a connection to a phone while the others will work on any Wi-Fi enabled device.