Falling for Tumblr:
Tumblr — also known as the eater of souls, the consumer of time and the end to all social life.
Tumblr is known on the Internet as a center for the random, the fandoms and the musically inspired — which basically means you can post anything without fear of judgment. This also leads to the collection of a lot of crazy.
“I use it a lot for the music I’m into and the bands — basically just my general interest in music,” sophomore Lucy Hall said.
It may sound casual, but in reality, it’s anything but.
If you ever read a book, watch a movie, hear a song or basically experience anything in life you kind of somewhat like, Tumblr users would advise you to do everything in your power to not look that thing up on Tumblr.
Because if you do, there’s no turning back.
“You meet people who are also into your fandom, which is really fun,” Hall said. “But then you just get into one giant Tumblr wormhole, and you get stuck, and you’re there for life. It’s bad.”
Proof of the wormhole: Hall said she spends at least two hours on Tumblr a day, including free time in class. While Tumblr is a great way to exempt fandom tension in between release dates of books, albums, etc., users should practice caution as they may experience loss of friends, social skills, lowering of grades and an inability to see in the daylight.
Tumblr Trouble:
There’s a dark side to everything, Tumblr included.
Selfies are a common thread on the website, which is great until the idea of weight loss gets involved.
Unfortunately, a pretty popular theme on Tumblr seems to be the use of anorexia and bulimia in order to procure the “perfect” body shape.
These eating disorders, nicknamed by the users as ‘Ana’ and ‘Mia,’ are being discouraged by Tumblr as the site bans any users or tags that seem to be sponsoring these unhealthy forms of weight loss.
“I think it’s good it’s getting banned because they’re promoting and glamorizing something people who don’t know a lot about the issues think is OK,” sophomore Lucy Hall said. “They’re making [anorexia and bulimia] look like something that’s okay to do, and they’re not raising the awareness they should be. Instead, they’re making it look good.”
Tumblrisms:
Fandom — The obsession with a book, movie, show, band, etc. of the user’s choice; do not insult without fear of death
GPOY — (Gratuitous Picture of Yourself) Used when a post describes a user or a user’s life perfectly
Tl;dr — (Too long, didn’t read) A warning to the poster; maybe the post had good content, maybe not… nobody knows because there were too many words
Ship — (Or to ship), wanting two characters or band members to be together with a ferocious fire that burns from within… usually leads to physical pain
Canon — The glorious moment when your ship becomes a reality; there will be much bragging and celebration
Otp — One true pairing
Slash — Also known as fan-fiction, usually between two characters of a series who are not together in reality
RP — (Roleplay) When two Tumblr users banter back and forth, taking up the roles of two different characters
Hnng — A desperate noise of frustration because something or someone is too perfect and the user wants it
Mary Sue — A character who is perfect to the point of driving fans into hatred
AU — (Alternate Universe) Mostly used as a descriptor for fan-fiction; warns the user what they are about to read
IRL — (In real life) A definer between fiction and reality, because that line is infuriatingly blurry on Tumblr
Grammar — Use it or lose it; if grammar is lacking in your comment or post, be prepared for corrections and hate
