Here's a list of five of Facebook's most popular applications and why to avoid them.

1. YoVille: "YoVille is a world where you can buy new clothes for your player, purchase items for your apartment, go to work, and meet new friends. Join YoVille today for free!"--This application combines chatting with your friends with a game you play. I played for a bit, but it didn't seem all that interesting to me. Evidently, it is very popular with people on Facebook because it's on Page 1 of Facebook's "Featured" applications.
2. Lucky Strike Bowling: "The classiest bowling experience around is now available right here on Facebook. Bowl against up to 25 of your friends and earn credits to spend in the pro shop. Can't get together with friends tonight? Hang out online at Lucky Strike Lanes!"--Like YoVille above, you can play with your friends in this game. If you love bowling, this is probably an application to avoid because it can get addicting. This is #2 on Page 1 of Facebook's "Featured" applications.
3. Bejeweled Blitz: "Play this special version of the classic gem-swapping puzzler created just for Facebook. Try out the new multiplier gems and speed bonuses. Compete against friends for bragging rights. Cooperate with friends for the chance to win prizes!"--This game is much like the Bejeweled game of Pogo and other places. You swap pieces to make a chain of three, and you gain points. Games like these are extremely addicting, and Facebook's Bejeweled makes it even more addicting by allowing you to compete with your friends and win prizes.
4. Word Challenge: "Word Challenge is the addictive word game that puts your vocabulary to test! Unscramble 40,000+ words, 20 vocabulary types, and even battle your friends for lexicon superiority!"--For those of us that love word games, this game can make us lose concentration on the important things to do really quick!
   
5. Pet Society: "In the world of Pet Society, you and your pet can have a great time! Go shopping, play games, compete in races against your friends' pets, and enjoy many fun activities together. Style your pet, decorate your house, and buy gifts for your friends' pet!"--I personally play this game, and it is very fun, very cute, and you can play with friends. It's addicting as you struggle to decorate your pet's home with the best furniture and level up. There's a lot of award to win too that you can put up on shelves around your pet's home.

So, I hope this gives you reason to pause the next time you're looking for more applications to add. Why not just play with one that gives you a few minutes of relaxation time before starting on those things that you need to get done?

We're all familiar with Facebook and Myspace and Twitter and other such social networking sites. But with Facebook and Myspace, you can do more than just find your old friends, connect with others at your college, chat with relatives in different states, and keep family updated with photos. You can now own a farm, become a vampire, battle with other werewolves, play silly arcade games with a Facebook/Myspace twist, or even run your own little restaurant.

These little applications don't seem like much of a big deal. After all, it's just fun and games. No one's getting hurt or anything. Right? Plus, you can invite your friends to join you on Facebook/Myspace and play along. But here's the catch. These little games are just as bad as regular PC games or other gaming systems simply because they can get addicting.

Are you a college or high school student who can get easily distracted by any little thing that looks like more fun than the homework assignment you should be working on? If this describes you, I suggest you keep the Facebook/Myspace logins to a minimum. The John Tesh Radio Show recently reviewed a study regarding Facebook in particular as far as grades.

According to a study published in Time magazine, John Tesh said, "Researchers at Ohio State University recently studied the Grade Point Averages of hundreds of graduate and undergraduate students. They found that the GPAs of Facebook users typically ranged a full grade lower than those of nonusers!"

Wow! If you're a college or high school student wanting to get those good grades, I suggest staying as far away from Facebook as possible. Or at least limit yourself to updating your status and logging off--letting your Facebook friends know you're serious about your studies right now and will log back in later to chat and play games. Trust me, your grades are more important in the long run than some silly little computer farm on Facebook. And your friends will understand.

If you're interested in reading all of what John Tesh had to say about Facebook and bad grades, I've put a snippit of the article up along with the link.

If you’re not among the near-200 million people who’ve joined Facebook by now, I have one question for you: Do you feel smarter for not signing up? According to a new report we found in Time magazine, you may be on to something. ...
Excerpt from "Facebook Users Tend to Get Lower Grades Than Nonusers"

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Tune in again soon to read: Extremely Popular Apps to Avoid