While AOL and Google used to be the most popular Web sites to visit, within the past year, Facebook has surpassed most other sites, which were once considered competition.

Facebook is a networking Web site that prides itself on allowing its members to connect and share with others. Currently more than 200 million people have an active Facebook account, and the number is growing each day.

Time Magazine recently published a study by Aryn Karpinski, proving Facebook causes lower grades, resulting in lower GPAs.

During this study, 219 undergraduate students were surveyed. The end result was simply shocking.

Facebook users averaged a 3.0 to 3.5 grade point average, while the non-Facebook users averaged a 3.5 to 4.0 grade point average.

The study also discovered that 79 percent of those Facebook members didn’t believe there was any correlation to the use of Facebook and their slightly lower grade point average.

Freshman, Sarah Bickerton, agrees that Facebook is one of the biggest distractions she faces in her daily life.

“Every time I open my laptop, I find myself typing facebook.com without even thinking,” she said.

Whether it’s checking for new notifications or seeing if friends have finally uploaded pictures from the weekend, Facebook somehow has the power to captivate its users into checking the site daily, and in some cases, hourly.

Freshman Christina Daly said, “I check Facebook about three times a day.”

However, Daly still finds plenty of time to participate in extracurricular activities and study for school.

“For me, Facebook is more of a guilty pleasure than an addiction. But I do have friends who are obsessed and even feel the need to check Facebook on their phone when they can’t get to a computer,” said Daly.

Just recently, Facebook got a face lift and added new features such as allowing members to chat with friends that are also logged on to their Facebook accounts.

This has not only made the once popular AOL instant messenger obsolete, but it has also increased the time most members spend on the Web site.

Now, instead of just looking at friends’ profiles, you can instant message them as well.

While students mainly log on to Facebook when they’re at home or procrastinating on homework in the library, it has also started to become a way to pass time during class.

Junior Stephanie Strano said, “I check it everytime I’m at a computer, which is about three or four times a day.”

Strano said it probably does distract her, yet she feels there are some positives to the network.

“I think it’s beneficial in a lot of ways. It keeps you aware of what’s going on. There’s always distractions, but people still get their work done,” she said.

JCU professor of Communications Mark Krieger said, “I think students generate a fixed amount of distractions for themselves.”

Krieger said students today have the talent of multi-tasking.

He has noticed a change in students since the introduction of the World Wide Web. “The Internet has changed the attention spans of students. They [attention spans] are much shorter,” he said.

The social network provides students the ability to keep in touch with fellow classmates and amuse themselves when bored.

But is it really worth the potential drama it creates and lower GPAs?

For some students, it may be the time to log off of Facebook, and check into the library.

Jack’s Mannequin rock and rolled on stage Saturday night.

With the stage set and ready to go, Jack’s Mannequin took the floor and gave an unforgettable show to John Carroll University students and the local community.

A large part of the concert’s success was due to the great audience turnout. The atmosphere was upbeat and exciting.

Fans sang along and danced to beats that lived up to the precedents set by their album, “Glass Passenger.”

Junior Erin Considine agreed. She said, “They were really good live performers. They did a good job and they had a good set list.”

While the fans were enjoying the concert, it seemed as if the band was having a fun time as well.

During the concert, they did an exceptional job involving the audience by telling stories and funny jokes.

Junior Laura Heid said, “It was really lively and fun to watch.”

Andrew McMahon, lead vocalist, energized the show with his entertaining tactics of jumping on the piano and walking across the keys. “I would definitely have given it a five out of five,” said Heid.

It seemed as if the four band members sincerely wanted to be at JCU playing for everyone.

They were even spotted on Coventry Road later that night continuing the celebration and fun.

The concert ran smoothly, and JCU’s concert committee did a great job making sure the performance ran without any gaffes.

Jack’s Mannequin will continue to tour the country, with their next stop at the University of Scranton on April 25.

Following their stop in Pennsylvania, the band will travel to Marist College the next day, the House of Blues in Boston the following day and down to Baltimore on April 29.

Overall, the concert was a gold star performance and deserves a commendable recognition of Jack’s Mannequin, along with Matt Nathanson and Low vs. Diamond, the opening performances.

Interview with Jack’s Mannequin’s Andrew McMahon

On Saturday, April 18, Jack’s Mannequin rocked out the DeCarlo Varsity Center for the annual spring concert. Prior to that, senior Anne McCarthy sat down with lead vocalist and pianist Andrew McMahon.

Q: What are some of your biggest musical influences?

A: I grew up on Billy Joel and Elton John. Later in life bands like Weezer and the Counting Crows. Also, Neil Young and Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers.

Q: What are your favorite things about the college experience—either from visiting schools or when you went to school?

A: Well, I didn’t attend college. I began touring right out of high school. So it’s a good experience for us. It’s definitely fun after the shows, and we tend to go out on campus, which is fun.

Q: What do you love most about music?

A: As a fan I love that you can be in a certain headspace in your daily life and you put on a song or record and transport yourself and forget your worries. You can go to a higher level of connection. And as a musician myself, there is the traveling and facilitating that [musical connection] for other people. I’m living my dream, and hopefully doing it well. It’s all about fostering a connection.

Q: What are your favorite parts about traveling around the country to play concerts?

A: I moved a lot when I was growing up. I love the aspect of meeting new people. There is the energy of renewal every time you wake up somewhere different. And there is also that attachment to the idea of starting fresh. It has an intoxicating quality.