It’s almost everyone’s favorite time of the year again. Finals are fast approaching whether we like it or not, and it’s just about time to start migrating to the libraries and completing those readings we’ve put off for the last few weeks. Finals are definitely a stressful time for the average student. A major component of stress during finals comes from the choices we make in time management. Oftentimes students will have three or four exams crammed into a mere few days. This leaves students with the task of carefully divvying up their limited waking hours, which we rarely get during finals week, to study for multiple exams. Of course, this is no easy task on its own, but the suffocating influence of social media on students only looks to further compress students’ busy schedules.

We are currently living in an information age, and the technological convenience that comes with it isn’t necessarily a boon for students during finals week. Smartphones, laptops, iPads, Kindles, tablets and other electronic devices have made our society more interconnected than ever.

However, one could argue that these gadgets have also made our generation the most distracted ever. A media study revealed that teens spend more than seven-and-a-half hours a day consuming media. The researchers compared these results to a similar study conducted in 1999 and found that there was on average an hour and 20 minute increase in usage from the 1999 study to the 2013 study. Additionally, a 2011 study developed by Pew Internet and American Life Project reports that over three-quarters of U.S. teens now own cellphones. This number is most likely far greater among college students.

While every student is expected to own both a cellphone and laptop, there are benefits and drawbacks to having these devices. As most adults are expected to be knowledgeable operators of these forms of media in our modern information age, it’s helpful for this generation to become adept at using them. However, smartphones, laptops and other similar electronic devices are gateways into the realm of social media. Already, 98 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds are users of some form of online social media. While social media is fun and can foster social connections between both local and long-distance friends and family members, it poses a big distraction to schoolwork.

As a social media user myself, I understand why these sites can be so enticing. On the whole, social media is positive because it promotes self-expression and generally helps maintain relationships between people. A study by Common Sense Media shows that more than half (52 percent) of teens surveyed found social media to have a beneficial effect on their relationship building. Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter are awesome, but they have a place and time to be overused, and neither are during finals week.

Finals week is an extremely hectic week for students and professors alike. It’s a time when students need to clamp down on their studies and free themselves from distractions such as social media. Social media in moderation may be fine, but the problem is sites like Facebook and Twitter are addicting. University of Gothenburg researchers determined that the average male and female Facebook users spend 64 and 81 minutes a day on the site. That’s a sizeable portion of the day that is designated to a minimally productive action. Whether we notice or not, we may be wasting a large part of our days on these sites when we should be studying.

I don’t recommend giving up social media anytime soon. It provides an opportunity for users to interact with other users and look back at photos and past interactions with friends or followers as well as a way of maintaining these inter-user relationships. However, as classes come to a close and finals arrive, be sure to free yourself from the frustrating black holes of social media and closely monitor your personal usage.