Nothing is better for self-discovery than an Internet quiz. After all, if you don't know what "Full House" (1987-1995) character you are, or which Eminem songs best describe you or which famous butt you should have, do you really know yourself at all? Luckily, some super-genius Internet tycoon realized how much our generation desperately needed to know these things and more, and Buzzfeed was born.
Buzzfeed is probably a major news source for more people than will admit to it. However, I will admit that while I can't remember the last time I went to CNN.com, the last time I was on Buzzfeed was an hour ago. In my defense, Buzzfeed does have a news section. Granted, most of those articles are called "The Hills Explains Vladimir Putin Invading Ukraine" or something equally riveting, but hey, news is news. I will also admit that 90 percent of the articles I read in the news section of Buzzfeed include more pictures of the cast of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" (2009-present) than pictures of the actual crisis at hand. However, in my defense, if I had wanted real news written by real reporters that consisted of well thought-out sentences without gifs, I wouldn't have gone on Buzzfeed in the first place.
While it may not be the best place for 'real world' news, Buzzfeed is probably the best place to go to if you want recipes for cookies or fancy drinks that you will probably never make, or if you need to know anything in list formation. Buzzfeed was created with procrastinators in mind. Nobody on Buzzfeed is being productive, and everybody on Buzzfeed is avoiding responsibilities. That doesn't mean it's not a valuable website, though. Sure, maybe listening in class or studying or sleeping or being social is important, but that doesn't mean looking at pictures of Jesse McCartney in UGGs and a onesie also isn't important.
What really surprises about Buzzfeed's popularity is just how dumb it really is. Most social media is, to put it nicely, not designed for serious intellectual activity, but it at least has some sort of purpose. Twitter, for instance, lets people share their thoughts with the world, even if those thoughts are usually not actually thoughts but really 140-character complaints that nobody else cares about, but will read anyway. Buzzfeed, on the other hand, doesn't even to pretend have a seemingly useful purpose. It is, literally, pointless.
What I love about Buzzfeed is that it seems to really embrace its pointlessness. It's not trying to be anything it's not; it's not promising that it will bring you closer to the people in your life when it very well knows that you still won't talk to these people, but will kill hours stalking them and everybody they know (looking at you, Facebook). Buzzfeed knows what it is. It knows that it will be used almost exclusively by people who are trying to avoid doing something else, and knows that these people are willing to read any article or take any quiz to avoid listening in a lecture. If Buzzfeed took itself seriously at all, it wouldn't be posting articles called "17 Terrifying Stages of Self-Serve Frozen Yogurt" or quizzes that help you decide everything from what you should give up for Lent or who you should vote for in Egypt's presidential education.
Buzzfeed might be the biggest waste of time there is, but sometimes (a lot of times) we all need to waste time. So, Buzzfeed on, and continue learning 82 facts most people don't know about cats and other priceless bits of information.
Rebecca Hutchinson is a freshman majoring in international relations. She can be reached at Rebecca.Hutchinson@tufts.edu.
