By Val Amiel Vestil and Joshua Ryan Salaveria
For most of us Sillimanians, the semestral break had been quite a drag. Unless there was an outing that we looked forward to, we often spent our days being hauled into the black hole of our laptops and tablets browsing through our multiple social networking sites. Of course, spending all day (everyday) stalking crushes has eventually become a bore. Thus, we often follow through an online social trend to pass the time. Countless internet phenomena have flourished over the past weeks but a few stood out and have flooded the walls of our Facebook and Twitter accounts. Here are some of them:
1. Best Vines
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uCiPOWT2f4&w=560&h=315]
Following the concept of YouTube, only briefer and funnier, the Vine is actually a mobile application owned by Twitter that allows users to take and share a 6-second (that’s the limit) video. Now, many of us collectively term any short-duration video as a Vine Video. Most Vine videos show a comical rendition of common experiences in a group. Some of them are just simply absurd. Recent Facebook pages have emerged that compiles the ‘Best Vines’ shared by the community. Sillimanians were quick to follow with pages such as Silliman Best Vines and the SUHS Best Vines. One thing’s for sure, you can never watch a Vine Video just once.
2. The Giraffe Riddle
What was supposed to be just a spotted, long-necked animal found only in the vast deserts of Africa, has now turned into an outrageous Facebook phenomenon. If you see that your friend has turned into a giraffe in his profile picture, then that’s probably because he gave the wrong answer to this riddle: It’s 3:00 am, the doorbell rings and you wake up. Unexpected visitors, it’s your parents and they are there for breakfast. You have strawberry jam, honey, wine, bread and cheese. What is the first thing you open? Well, other than your lack of more productive things to do, what do you think is the first thing you should open? Moreover, the ironic thing is, the riddle has got nothing to do with giraffes.
3. Throwback Thursdays or TBT
Throwbacks are old photos that were captured mostly during the time when film cameras still ruled the industry. A quick snap of the smartphone today brings these old pictures into the digital and online world. This trend has been present for quite a while already, even way before the start of the first semester. But last month has received a spike in the number of throwback photos posted. There might be a relationship between boredom and nostalgia. Or maybe it’s because most batch reunions happen during the semester break. Either way, people can’t seem to limit themselves to a single day in a week to post these photos, leading to the creation of the Throwback Fridays, Throwback Saturdays, well, basically every day in the week.
4. Ask.fm
Alas, this could be the most splendid avenue to become one step closer to your crush, well, digitally closer that is. This Latvia-based social networking website that has dominated the now-gone Formspring, gives users an opportunity to ask other users questions. Founded in 2010, Ask.fm began to trend again last summer and questions evolved to come in so many different forms, most of them were generic – What is your favorite movie?; Some asked for opinion – Thoughts on No Monday Classes.; Some became so provocative and personal – Why did you cheat on (insert name here); and some even turned into a confession rather than a question – I have the biggest crush on you, please notice me, I exist, I want to have your babies, I love you. Good luck on that one, mate.
5. TBH
No, this does not mean Totally Big Horse, or Tito Ben’s House, or To Be Hannounced – nope. It means To Be Honest. It’s actually a milder version for ask.fm. When someone likes your “like for tbh” post, you immediately go to their wall and post what you honestly think of them. Apparently, most of these posts are just an attempt to point out how gwapa or buotan someone is. Like the irony in most online trends, TBHs don’t tell you even half the truth.
Trends such as these are made for everybody’s enjoyment. As long as the (still) unwritten rules of the internet are followed, we can assure ourselves that the fun would continue on. One thing you must remember is that you can’t completely delete anything you place in the internet. That embarrassing confession you posted on your crush’s wall would undoubtedly be stored in some storage facility in Silicone Valley (and if you’re unlucky, a screenshot of it would be taken by your ‘good’ friends). So watch out what you post in the internet, and of course, have fun!
