Go to Willy T, look around at all the students hunched over their laptops. All of these individuals are at the library to “study,” right? No, of course not. These students turn on their computer and immediately log onto Facebook.

No one needs a summary on what Facebook is. Why? Because almost every single student on this campus has one.

Facebook has become a part of us. We basically live two lives, a real life and a virtual life on the Internet.

In real life, we’re not as quick, clever or witty as we would be in the world of our online persona. In real life, we’re not always seen in the most flattering light or angle while we’re always approvingly tagged with a photo on our online world.

It once was less likely for individuals to have online personas. I can remember back in 2004 when kids would ask each other: “Can I Myspace you?”

Ask any young adult if he or she has a Myspace and you’re now more likely to encounter a “What?” Facebook is the main addiction of our generation. It takes energy out of our living life and puts it into a false, imaginary world of the Facebook realm.

I’m not trying to blast Facebook. I know what it feels like to compulsively check your notifications on an hourly basis, hoping to see that someone commented on your oh-so-clever status or wrote on your wall.

It is also a fact that Facebook does have societal value as a tool to utilize, like long-distance friends to correspond over thousands of miles.

What I believe is that Facebook has shown to cause problems with socialization in real life. We “friend” people, “chat” with them for hours on end and then feel the obvious awkwardness when you meet in person.

If we can learn to focus primarily on real life, we can perhaps have a healthier relationship with our Facebook page. And of course, I will be posting a link to this online as soon as I’m done.