Whether it’s telling the world what’s on your mind in 140 characters or running an animated character through a maze on Temple Run, there are an abundance of apps and sites that are keeping smartphone users occupied. But many of them are nothing more than a fad, constantly played and talked about for a few weeks before it’s on to the newest, coolest app or site.
At the beginning of the year, it was Snapchat. Students were constantly walking in the halls and sitting in class taking “selfies” to send to a person (viewable for only a limited amount of time). After the time expires, the picture can’t be looked at again.
“I love Snapchat,” senior Hannah Broussard said. “I thought it was so fun and I still use it but not as often as I did.”
After Snapchat came Fun Run. This app features forest animal characters competing with their fellow “furry friends.” The object is to be the first person to have your character finish the race.
“It was an enjoyable game to play with friends,” sophomore Dan Cole said. “I used it at one point when everyone else used it. I deleted it now because everyone stopped playing.”
Next came Ruzzle and Wanelo. Ruzzle is a game where you compete with either a known friend or stranger to try and put together as many words as you can. Wanelo is very similar to Pinterest with a variety of categories that can be searched. The biggest difference is that you can buy stuff straight from the site.
“I’ve never used Wanelo but I used Pinterest all the time and that’s how I found out about it,” junior Molly Lacey said.
Just like trends wear out, the same thing happens to apps and sites.
“We started with MySpace and when everyone transferred to Facebook, MySpace was forgotten,” sophomore Danielle Brochu said. “Now with Twitter and Instagram we think of Facebook like we used to think of Myspace.”
Among the most popular apps/sites of the 2011-12 school year:
Temple Run
Words with Friends
Instagram
Pinterest
Twitter
Among the most popular apps/sites of the 2012-13 school year:
Snapchat
Fun Run
Wanelo
Ruzzle
