According to The 2011 Cisco Connected World Technology Report, 49% of college students “consider the Internet to be ‘close’ in importance to water, food, air and shelter in their lives.”
Considering the exceedingly broad range of “things”—research, social networking, entertainment, etc.—the Internet has to offer college students, this statistic shouldn’t be too shocking for those of us with modern-day mindsets.
On college campuses, social networking websites are battling it out against school and education-related internet usage for the attention of today’s students, but what about those sites we always see referenced on our Timelines and Twitter feeds? No, they aren’t major news outlets, gaming sites or anything that demands a registry or sign-up.
These sites are the greatest sources of mindless procrastination. They bring about cheap laughs over the simplest obscenities and publicized stupidity. Their content can be informative, mind-blowing or the simple work of a clever-minded comedian.
Unknown to a few, but commonly known to most, these websites come in many forms, sizes and shapes—from a site consisting of funny pictures of cats (LOLCats.com), to a blog geared toward men, which has toured to numerous colleges with their infamous Barstool Blackout parties (BarstoolU.com).
Just in time for finals week, I have—in no special order—a short and sweet list of some of the most popular attention grabbers and time wasters:
1. BroBible.com:
Also a guy-, or bro-directed website, which is closely related to and constantly competing with BarstoolSports.com. Barstool tends to keep somewhat more of a focus on sports, but all Barstool sites and Bro Bible have a few things in common; hot girls, general (entertaining) and sports news, fratty music, and hilarious general and college-related stories and videos.
Everything they post is editorialized with witty, sarcastic, egotistic and, sometimes explicit but funny, articles in response to the subject matter. They allow comments, generate blogs and sell merchandise.
2. TheCollegeTownLife.com:
This website is ALL things college. While a very, very small amount of the site’s content may have something to do with news, most of it consists of articles without boundaries, hilarious photos, fun music and entertaining videos covering any stereotypical concerns of today’s “crazy college student.”
Are you ever wondering what “shit freshman say?” Have you wanted to find a reason to drink during an episode of Gossip Girl? Do you want to know what to do if you’ve been “sexiled?” Well, College Town Life can answer all of that and more! Oh, and if you didn’t see enough “hot chicks” in anything from #1, College Town Life has your back.
3. PostSecret.com & TerpSecret.com:
PostSecret is described as “an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.” The secrets are short and sweet, but can give you the chills, make your eyes tear or your jaw drop without even knowing the poster. TerpSecret is a little closer to home for us at UMD. Also an anonymous blog, this site is meant for Terps who need to get something off their chests, b*tch about what makes them angry or confess to an upsetting thought that they fear to tell anyone else.
The site also dedicates a portion to helping those who need and seek it. Warning: reading these posts may cause you to seek change in the world, beat up anyone who inflicts pain on another or sit down next to and hug a complete stranger just because they looked lonely. If your ego is feeling a little too high, this site will be sure to humble you.
4. Reddit.com:
Known as “the front page of the internet,” Reddit really does have everything. News and personal stories, photos, videos, messages, music, random facts, etc. Anything that any registered user can possibly post online may be found within a Reddit site.
Luckily for those who are just passing through, Reddit users vote for “what’s good and what’s junk,” so that we don’t have to sift through a bunch of nonsense to get to the good stuff. Some of us may know Reddit as one of the sites that Alexander Song posted his shooting spree threats. So, yes, just about anything can be found there.
5. Textsfromlastnight.com and whatshouldwecallme.tumblr.com:
These two are paired together because they are great sites to just scroll through, stop, read quickly, laugh and then move on to the next one. TFLN provides an almost infinite list of hilarious text messages that you’ll want to read out loud to your friends one after another because they will relate to you in some comically odd way.
The same goes for this specific Tumblr account. On this site, however, you scroll through page after page of random and unusual interactive clips from movies, shows and other random videos—on a constant replay—that represent common occurrences that we face in daily life. If you’re confused, check out this example for yourself, and I promise that you will be hooked.
So, if you’re looking for a moment to just relax your mind and awkwardly giggle at your computer screen, I would definitely suggest browsing a few of these gems. But, beware, they can be highly addictive, and probably aren’t something your boss would enjoy seeing during your hours at the office.