Studying comes second to surfing the web

LISA THALHEIMER
Opinions Writer

Lately, I seem to be addicted to distractions. Quite unfortunately for me, the growing popularity of the interweb tends to bring an increase of these distractions.

First there were websites like Facebook and Twitter, which I could handle perfectly well. But nowadays things are getting a little out of hand. Websites like lamebook.com, fmylife.com, awkwardfamilyphotos.com, awkwardboners.com, textsfromlastnight.com and peopleofwalmart.com all take away from my precious study time.

These user-driven websites are our generation’s equivalent of trashy celebrity tabloid magazines. We’re all getting pleasure at the expense of other people’s misfortunes. The only difference is that the websites are almost always completely anonymous, so we don’t actually know who the people we are laughing at are. This is what makes our generation much more tactful than the one that popularized Star and People magazine.

While these websites might seem like useless distracting filth, they do serve a purpose in the university student’s life. When you’re having a bad day, what is a better pick-me-up than reading about people’s problems that are way worse than yours? This is where fmylife.com comes in. It’s much easier to get by when your mind is filled with stories from people who are having a worse day than you.

And if you’re freaking out because you think you have nothing to wear, go to People of Wal-Mart, it will make your wardrobe look pretty damn good. Of course, sites like Awkward Family Photos and Awkward Boners just make you feel normal, because whether we are witnesses or victims, we can all relate to these websites at one point or another.

Since they do have their good points to them, it’s even more difficult to get away from these websites, especially since this is a time in our lives when bad days and awkward moments are not rare. When I’m down and out, I would much rather laugh at a photo of a computer geek and his keyboard than study the clothing technologies of the Eastern Sub-Arctic people. Sadly, laughing at the unfortunate geek isn’t going to get me too far in life (or so I learned in high school).

Whether these sites are good or bad, they fuel an addiction in me that isn’t exactly healthy. My essays and assignments, which I’m paying huge money to be able to submit, are being put on the backburner because the misfortunes of many unlucky individuals are just a click away.

Well, at least I’m not throwing my life away for porn, right?

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graphic: Luke Siemens