Tweet, Tumbl or Stumble? Procrastination for College Students

By Karolyn Castaldo on January 11, 2012

As college students, we are always looking for ways to procrastinate. You may think I’m kidding, but let’s be honest, it is hard to study for 5 hours straight for that biology exam you just have to pass. If you need a break from studying, are looking for a way to break up the day, class, or even just the time in between loads of laundry, the internet has tons to offer. I will warn you though, these sites can become extremely addictive and will likely distract you from your work longer than intended, so be careful when you decide to give them a try!

Photo from Flickr.com by Baddog_

A few websites that have been blowing up on college campuses are StumbleUpon, Twitter, and Tumblr.

StumbleUpon is a site which allows people to simply click the “Stumble” button, and they are transported to websites that would be of interest to them. First, the website asks what sorts of things that you would like to be directed to, whether it is another website, videos, photos or music! The more they stumble, the more personalized their stumbling becomes, by clicking “like” or “dislike” when you come to a page. By clicking “like”, you will get more websites that are similar to that page and by clicking “dislike”, you will not stumble upon things similar to that. It is great for the procrastination because you are able to randomly see things that are of interest to you, just by a click of a button.

Though many people have heard of it, Twitter, is not widely understood. Most people consider it to be a long list of status updates, like on Facebook, but this is not the case. Though many people use it to update their followers on their day-to-day activities, such as, “LIKE OMG I JUST SHOWERED!”, that is not how it is always used. It is a great way to keep up with your favorite activities, magazines, restaurants, and news stations and papers. I personally follow The New York Times, plenty of skiing magazines, humor sites, and my local news station. I am able to get a quick summary of the events going on in my area, the world, and the activities that I’m interested in. It is truly an incredible way to stay connected. (It’s also a great way to get some publicity if you are a writer or are starting a business!)

Finally, Tumblr is not just a blogging website. Though that is its main use, users can simply search other people’s blogs, based on the tags that each person puts with their post. It is another site that lets you target blogs and posts by your interests. Also, it is a great way to build a community if you are a writer looking for feedback, or you have a topic that interests you enough to start blogging about it, whether it is photography, inspirational quotes, book reviews, music, or vlogging (video blogging).

Like I said before, these sites can be addictive, so use them with caution. They also vary in levels of productivity. Simply clicking the button on StumbleUpon might not be as intellectually stimulating as writing your own blog posts on Tumblr or reading articles through Twitter. Keep studying, but take a break and check these websites out when you’re bored or unfocused.

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