“Today, I not only had three midterms, but I found a leak in my apartment, I got a $200 traffic ticket, and my boyfriend broke up with me over Facebook Chat. FML.”
We’ve all heard our fellow Bruins grumble over the woes of college life. Usually, despite how rough a day might be, it’s easy to remember we are all still college students in Southern California living a very comfortable life compared to, as cliche as it may sound, people starving in Africa.
That’s why when I heard about the blog “Fmylife,” I was disgusted by the thought of an online Web site being devoted solely to people venting about their latest “traumas,” as if we don’t have enough outlets for complaining already. What I didn’t realize was that my disgust would turn into obsession as soon as I read the blog’s first entry.
Maybe it was my revulsion ““ or perhaps my conscious realization that I would get some sick pleasure from reading about other people’s woes ““ that finally brought me to look at the site. The format of the blog was simple. It didn’t have any of those pictures and catchy lines to hook fellow bloggers such as the infamous “Stuff White People Like” ““ it had instead plain text and a few links. It was clear the blog wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I started off reading the first entry.
“Today, I was taking the elevator down with a group of people. It stopped on the second floor, and I said, “˜What (person) can’t take the steps from the second floor?’ Then a kid in a wheelchair got on. FML.”
It seemed to me that this Web site was less about serious tragedies and more about people dealing with tough situations with a sense of humor.
The site seemed to include the occasional “my boyfriend of three years dumped me and is engaged to my sister” sob story, but on the whole, the stories were relatively tame. Those acute problems become flat-out hilarious when told in the FML format. The profane title suggested that these problems would be extreme, but in the end, most of the stories had to do with everyday issues. The blog’s title only served to further mock the nonserious nature of the “traumatic” stories.
The best part about the Web site is that we’ve all been there. The way other people’s stories relate to our own mishaps is what makes the blog so compelling. We remember our own antidotes and relish in the fact that everyone suffers. It’s the bloggers equivalent to “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”
We’ve all fallen flat on our back because of a slippery surface. Though some of the problems are serious, they’re mostly just frustrating, and it’s not the end of the world. We might as well use our experience for a little humor.
Indeed, I related completely to the blogger’s story about the elevator. On one occasion, I was sitting angrily in a McDonald’s because I missed my train, and the little kid screaming behind me was only making things worse. I turned to my friends and said, “Why don’t parents know how to keep their kids under control?” I turned around to realize the child I was speaking of was mentally disabled. FML. Luckily the child and his mother didn’t hear me, but I felt like a complete idiot for saying something so ignorant and offensive.
To add to the interactive nature of the blog, there are the approval or disapproval ratings, such as “You deserved that one.” Thousands of bloggers will throw in their sympathy or judgment on each blogger’s latest predicament. Surprisingly, the ratings seem fairly accurate; the sob stories have the highest approval ratings. It was encouraging that people have some sense of how to measure the magnitude of an issue.
The stories best fit for the blog are the ones that rank the lowest as legitimate concerns. True problems need more attention, not mockery on a humor site. So if you’re feeling down about an embarrassing remark you made, this blog is the place to share your story, but if your concerns are legitimate, this site probably isn’t your best bet to find support.
We can thank rapid Internet growth for the creation of more than our fair share of sites that don’t deserve a home page address. Luckily fmylife.com didn’t turn out to be one of them. Though the very idea of a blog devoted to writing about a bad day seems wrong and selfish, the site redeems itself with a comic factor. Reading about other people’s problems helps give you a little perspective on your own dilemmas and also a good laugh.
Hopefully those laughs will help you balance out the stress created by minor worries, making the blog slightly cathartic. The blog is not a pathetic way to express your problems, but a legitimate way to find some humor in everyday occurrences.
If you enjoy a good laugh over someone’s latest trauma, e-mail smier@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to