Um, how about judging people based on the quality and quantity of work/projects/whatever they produce, rather then what times of the day and for how long their rear ends are sitting at 'work'?
Destination > Journey ?
And so, in a weird way, pretending to be super-busy has its rewards. And this is part of why the problem even exists.
Who cares fundamentally what other students/peers are doing? Focus on yourself, your own goals/aspirations, go out and achieve it. Stop worrying about what other people think or do.
It's like saying "I've got an easy solution to HIV. Just have all the HIV+ people stop having sex or sharing needles and it'll be gone in a generation." It might be true, but you can't just wish it into happening.