I logged on to Facebook the other day and was completely sucked in.

I only meant to go on for a few minutes; someone had posted on my wall, and I felt like I should reply.

Before I knew it, someone was chatting with me; I was scrolling through pictures of people I hadn’t talked to in years and updating my interests.

The result: almost an hour of my time wasted.

Later that day, I was filling out a job application and was struck by one of the questions: What would you do if you had an extra hour in your day?

I immediately thought of several things. I could exercise, take a nap, read that novel I started three weeks ago, cook a decent meal or call a friend; the list was endless. And then I realized I did have the extra hour I was dreaming about, I had just used it on a social networking site.

I may not be the only one who does this, and it’s not just on Facebook. The Internet, for whatever reason, is like a mysterious time portal that sucks me in for hours at a time. When I finally yank myself away from the screen, slack-jawed and blank-eyed, the sun has gone down, I’m hungry and I’m probably late for something.

Many of my friends complain they are too busy. The current American psyche equates busyness with success. We do not feel accomplished unless every hour of our day is filled with something meaningful: a job, an internship or volunteering.

And when we do have spare time, it seems like we end up wasting it. We watch something uninteresting on TV, scroll through our high school rival’s party pictures or waste time looking for a funny video.

Maybe instead of talking with our Facebook “friends,” we could spend time with a real person in a face-to-face interaction.

Or rather than being sucked in by nature videos on YouTube, we could go outside.

When was the last time you sat and just did nothing?

It’s not really acceptable in our society. One hundred years ago, it was okay to sit and just be, contemplating life in a parlor or on a farm.

As my mom reminds me every so often, we’re human beings, not human doings.

But lately in my senior year, I’ve realized the peace I’ve felt when I’ve had the chance to do nothing — to simply relax and enjoy a quiet moment rather than stress over my future career or the homework I haven’t done yet.

This isn’t laziness. Rather, it’s exactly what our society desperately craves. A 2004 Gallup poll reported that 44 percent of Americans believe they do not spend enough time relaxing or doing nothing. This does not include the Internet, TV watching, reading or enjoying a hobby, but rather taking time out to unwind.

I know midterms are over, finals are around the corner, Thanksgiving is coming and more holidays are on the way, but I encourage you to say goodbye to your friends on Facebook chat and turn off your computer and phone. Enjoy silence and stillness, at least for a little bit. It’ll be hard at first; you might want your iPod or at least a book, but try it. You’ll be better in the long run. And really, you probably already checked Facebook this morning.

Reach columnist Erika Cederlind at opinion@dailyuw.com.