While sitting here trying to write this column, I find myself typing in www.facebook.com instead of where I should be headed on the internet. It’s not unusual that I’m found Facebooking when in reality, doing something more productive should be top priority. Instead, I open a new tab and begin chatting with friends.

As I begin to forget what my surroundings are and go into the internet work of social networking, something catches my eye that suddenly brings me back to reality; a status.

“Should be doing homework and finishing an essay for a scholarship but instead I’m on FB.”

It’s funny how we are able to admit that we should be doing things of higher importance but the entertainment Facebook (as well as other social networking sites like Myspace and Twitter) offers, makes us forget our priorities.

As one of my teachers has told me before, our generation has been raised virtually online. Need directions? Go online. Need homework help? Go online. Need to know what your friends are doing? Go online. Any answer you need, any person you want to find, any directions to navigate the way can be found on the World Wide Web.

Millions of people a day are getting lost in cyberspace; finding answers, finding people, and finding directions. Some are playing their favorite music, some are typing away on a new status update, and others are finding “symptoms of the Swine Flu.” These millions of people know that in the back of their minds, they should be working on a paper, applying for college, or doing research.

So as you sit down at your computer and start writing your English paper or a college essay, forget bringing up Firefox and typing in Facebook. Remember your top goal when you make your way towards your Mac. Facebook won’t help you get into a college. A scholarship essay will. The choice is one you shouldn’t have to think about but only the controller of the mouse has the final say.