Today, I realized how much time I waste perusing random sites on the Internet when I could be doing schoolwork. Instead I find myself staying up until the early hours of the morning to finish assignments. FML.
The Internet is an excellent venue for people to share thoughts and ideas, but it can be quite the distraction. When I sat down to write this, I thought it would be in praise of being able to read about how other people screw up, but I soon realized it wasn't as great as I thought. How much time can you really spend on sites like fmylife.com and failblog.org before you really have to say to yourself enough is enough?
Yes, they're entertaining. Yes, it's easy to lose track of time. But how many of the posts on these Web sites are actually real?
Fmylife.com, based out of France and originally titled VieDeMerde.fr (you'll have to look up the translation for that on your own), was launched in early 2008. The U.S. version, fmylife.com, was only launched in January of this year. The terms of use read, "This site is a place to 'let it all out' and unwind by sharing those little things that screw with your day; it allows you to realize that you are not alone." I find it hard to imagine, though, that even half of the posts on this site are real.
Don't get me wrong, they're entertaining, but there isn't any way your boyfriend wants to break up with you for being lame when he sits in his room and plays Call of Duty and Pokémon all day. If that's all he did, why were you dating him in the first place? You probably didn't see him all that often, so no harm done.
I check this site every day, and it does make me happier and make me feel a little bit better about myself, but it gets old the 85th time someone does something embarrassing during sex or in front of their waitress. Or when their parents find something they shouldn't. I just can't look at it anymore because I already know what will be posted.
Another site like this is failblog.org. Based in Seattle, failblog.org is a part of I Can Has Cheezburger?, a collection of Web sites including Lolcats, Engrish and Graph Jam. Like fmylife.com, these sites make fun of everyday scenarios purely as entertainment, but it's a little too easy to get carried away.
Graphjam.com, a site where people can make their own charts and graphs about whatever they want, even proves this point. Someone recently posted a pie chart titled "Time spent on the computer," with a small sliver labeled "doing research" and an 80 percent sliver on the graph titled "LOLing." Why is it that more and more distractions are popping up on the Web?
Though I can't speak for everyone else on campus, I have a ton of work to do for each of my classes, and when these sites are brought up in almost all of the conversations I have each day, it gets a little bit frustrating. I really do have other things to get done. Like other things, these sites are OK in moderation. I have to say earlier this year I overdosed on fmylife.com and have since learned my lesson. Though I'll admit from time to time I do end my sentences with "FML."
After being around for less than four months, fmylife.com is already swamped with visitors each day. I don't think I've met a single person who hasn't heard of it (save for maybe my parents, but that's a different story).
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A quick recap of everything I've just said: If you start half of your conversations with, "Hey! So did you read about that one guy who got stuck/embarrassed himself doing ___/ruined his relationship," we know how you spend your days. And no, it's not that you're playing Call of Duty or Pokémon.
Don't let these sites get the best of you, or you'll find yourself sleepless and still in need of a 10-page paper you should have started weeks ago.
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