Live in Dreams: Websites That Take Up Way Too Much of My Time

I am a Generation Y baby, born in the 1990s but a child of the 2000s. I had no choice in this matter, obviously. If I would have, I would have been a teenager in the early '90s- listening to Nevermind, wearing Doc Martens, and dying my hair with Manic Panic. But tis not so. I've grown up in the years of Beyoncé, high heels, and hair extensions. Not to mention the internet. Sure it existed back in the good old '90s, but...not really, ya know? Not the way we know it. Angela Chase from My So-Called Life didn't have the option of Facebook stalking Jordan Catalano. Kurt Cobain didn't get to go on Twitter and announce tour dates and "communicate" with fans (not like he would've if he'd had the chance, it's effing Kurt Cobain). Matilda Wormwood didn't get to order her books online on Amazon. Nope. They wouldn't understand our obsession with the internet.

It isn't our fault. We've grown up with it. It's hard to remember a time when there weren't computers in school and people actually had to write letters instead of sending emails. The same way our parents' generation had television, we have the internet. It is the cross which we must bear.

Sure, it's great. It has done so much for medicine, news reporting, and other aspects of life. But, my god, it has also done a lot for the grown of procrastination and wasted time in our society. Here's a few websites that have contributed to my own personal procrastination:

The mother of all social networking sites. MySpace never knew what hit them.

1. Facebook
MySpace was just the beginning. It had nothing on Facebook. Who would've thought that "staying connected" would be so much damn fun? Making statuses, tagging photos, updating your relationship status (yup, hasn't happened for me yet), liking random pages with titles such as "The feeling you get when you understand something in math class" (a good feeling, I must admit), annoying the shit out of people by poking them, writing a nice, cute "About Me", and starting drama by not commenting on a post someone made on your wall? So enjoyable. Addicting, even. Why? The world may never know...

2. eBay
This also comes to another point I'd like to make. Not only have I wasted time on the internet, but I've also wasted money. CDs, shoes, band shirts- I love 'em. And eBay's got a ton of 'em. Not a good combination.

3. Youtube
The Lonely Island SNL digital shorts alone have taken up like 3 hours of my time this week. Here's my favorite ;)

4. Wikipedia
I look things up constantly. What's that song that was the themesong of Freaks and Geeks? Wikipedia. ("Bad Reputation") What's that second book in the Twilight series? Wikipedia. (New Moon) Who is that guy who made all those people drink cyanide-laced Kool-Aid? Wikipedia. (Jim James)
Thank you, Wikipedia, for giving me so much useless knowledge.

5. Urban Dictionary
I don't think I could have ever went on if I hadn't figured out the meaning of "nbd". Urban Dictionary, thanks for explaining random words and phrases that I wouldn't have known otherwise. Kudos to you.

6. Pitchfork Media
Music news and reviews about bands I actually care about.

7. Sleeveface
As a music ~~fan~~ fanatic, I find this site to be extrememly enjoyable and interesting.

8. Picnik
Photobucket is sooooo 2007. Today's amateur photograph editor should use Picnik. Not only can you make your favorite photo of you and your dog look like it was taken in the '60s, but you can also make it look like you have white teeth and a zit-free complexion. Who could ask for more?