Blogging is the latest craze among students, professionals and even parents these days. The Internet is full of creative ways to avoid boredom, but some people are taking blogging and “MySpacing” to a whole new level.Kathryn Hopper, a mother of four, wrote an article for last Tuesday’s Star-Telegram talking about her obsession with and recovery from “mommyblogging.”

Hopper admitted to blogging about her family’s life for up to 20 hours per week. That is enough to be considered a part-time job.

A lot of people struggle with boredom, especially in college. Our friends are doing homework, and we’ve already finished, or they are going to a party, and we don’t want to go. This leaves lots of private time.

With computers and the Internet at our fingertips, many times, we will resort to surfing the Web, checking MySpace, Facebook or even blogging.

While these things are innocent time-wasters, they can become an addicting habit that many struggle to break.

MySpace and Facebook are great for social networking and for keeping in touch with old friends, but when they become a habit, it can lead to bad grades, loss of friendships and even depression.

Students in college like to post their pictures for friends to see on these Web sites. Those who like to add elaborate stories often blog.

It becomes a problem when their popularity on the Web sites becomes more important than their grades.

Many students can tear themselves away from the computer long enough to get a good amount of studying in for a test, but there are a few who have a hard time doing so.

When Hopper finally stopped blogging, she admitted that her life was a lot less frantic, and she spent less time worrying about what her next blog would involve, which allowed her a great deal more time to spend with her family.

Blogging or MySpacing is just something to do, or so you think.

Imagine going on vacation somewhere where there is no Internet connection. Would you survive? If not, here are some things to think about.

Before our online habits, our lives were a lot more relaxing because we didn’t have to wonder if someone left us a comment on MySpace.

Let’s resist the urge to check our blogs every once in a while. When the Internet is calling, take a walk and enjoy life. Ever noticed the flowers on campus or how nice the weather can be in Texas?

We should only allow ourselves to log on to these sites once a day, or even less than that.

I promise there is a much more beautiful world outside of cyberspace that is waiting to be embraced. Our friends want us to go to that party, and our parents want our grades to come up. All it takes is a little effort on our part.