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One of my biggest gripes about social media is perhaps the most obvious – it takes too much of my time. I see no point in putting up a Facebook profile to connect with friends, only to find myself clicking through some stranger's obscure vacation photos from 1993. Unfortunately, for many students around the world, mindlessly surfing through their social media network has become a pastime – and it's hurting their grades.

Recent studies have come back with mixed findings, but there are a good number of polls that show 2 out of every 3 students who use Facebook and other social media platforms several hours a week have been getting significantly lower grades than their peers who didn't. This largely confirms a fear that parents and teachers have had for a long, long time.

There have been a number of studies that show otherwise, though, and many critics claim that every generation of students has at least one major distraction. I imagine the grades of students suffering back when the Beatles were together, or when TV first made its way to homes, or when texting suddenly became mainstream.

But I the rise of social media is a unique kind of distraction, because social networks often grow much faster than any one person can keep up. With so many kids laying out their lives on the Internet for the world to see, looking through social media profiles can be quite addicting for students looking for an excuse to procrastinate on the day's homework.

Whatever the critics say, it's still pretty clear – students who spend hours using Facebook and other social media platforms spend much less time studying. Just how bad is it? According to some experts, students' academic performance drop at the equivalent of one letter grade. What could've been an “A” becomes a “B,” and what could've been a barely-passing “D” falls into “F.”

More studies are being done on the issue, but let's face it – how much more evidence do we need? The failure rates in today's schools and universities are rising uncontrollably, and steps undoubtedly need to be taken to make sure kids spend more time studying.

I'm beginning to think that time management is a skillset that shouldn't be reserved for managers and such, and should instead be taught to students at a very young age. Chris Comez's two cents.