By RTF Staff Writer Shannon Meiers

It was almost midnight. I should have gone to bed over an hour ago. But I couldn’t.  The draw of the shiny blue screen was too much to bear. My red-rimmed eyes darted to the battery indicator on my laptop. 10%. Good. Time for one more status update. Even as I was typing, I happened to glance over at the list of my online friends. Uh oh. My dad was online. This wasn’t good. Maybe he hadn’t seen me. I still had time to escape the horror that was The Parent Wrath. I was going to lose cooperative-child points for sure.

My mind going a mile a minute as I attempted to direct the cursor over the log-out button. But it was not to be. My cursor froze at that precise moment and so did my breathing as I realized I had a new chat message. From my dad.

Busted.

“Go to bed.” The message read.

Oh good. No consequences. I was going to get off easy this time. I giggled fiendishly to myself. Who knew my parents would go easy on me if they were tired? Once again preparing to logout, my heart leaped in my throat as my dad kept typing. Uh oh. Here it comes… The guillotine was about to drop. I held my breath.

“Computer downstairs on dining room table.”

And there went the blade. Chop.

With those 6 little words my dad spoke, my pride became increasingly difficult to hold onto. I crept down the steps as quietly as possible. Like a wanted fugitive, I glance nervously around as I entered the dining room. Good. No one there.  Using one hand, I carefully slipped the computer onto the table and darted back upstairs like a frightened deer.

That was humiliating, yes. But I had a feeling the worst was yet to come.  The confiscation of my computer was a given. Maybe the cell phone too.  My fevered brain tried to think of a plan, but it was a fruitless effort. There was nothing else for it. I would just have to hope for the best.

Why had that happened anyway? I didn’t originally plan to sit on Facebook for over an hour. I was going to work on an assignment for school, and then do my devotions and go to bed. What happened to that little plan? I had been derailed by Facebook. Again.

Has anything like this ever happened to you? Have your good intentions ever been displaced by some website that seems to beckon for your attention?

If so, what are some things you do to keep it from taking over your life?

If you don’t have Facebook, or it’s not as big of a problem for you, what’s your internet weakness? What’s the one website you simply cannot resist? (Real Teen Faith, perhaps?!)

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Shannon Meiers is a high school junior who is deeply passionate about making a difference for Christ. She is involved with the special needs’ ministry in her church, but she’s the one who feels like she’s learning through it.