BuzzFeed quizzes a slightly entertaining time-waster

April 25, 2016 — by Isabelle Yang

BuzzFeed, a "social news and entertainment company" started in 2006, has become famous among entertainment enthusiasts of the Internet age. In addition to YouTube videos, the company creates quizzes, which range from “Who is your spirit Nazi?” to “What is your all time favorite slang word?”

 

If you have never found yourself picking a lizard out of nine pictures of lizards or picking a name of the devil, you’ve probably never taken a BuzzFeed quiz.

It’s easy to recognize the strange titles of these quizzes, which have likely popped up in your Facebook news feed time and time again ―  but for those of you who never bothered to take any of them, I’d like to enlighten you with the details.

BuzzFeed, a "social news and entertainment company" started in 2006, has become famous among entertainment enthusiasts of the Internet age. In addition to YouTube videos, the company creates quizzes, which range from “Who is your spirit Nazi?” to “What is your all time favorite slang word?”

The popularity of these quizzes owe to their unique titles and sweep of subjects they cover, appealing to fans of “Gilmore Girls,” Satanic followers and anime Free! Iwatobi Swim Club.

To begin my journey of taking a BuzzFeed quiz, I clicked on “What Percentage Middle Class are You?” Unlike other wacky quizzes, such as  “Are you Poo or Pee?” or even “Which Weird Cult Should You Join?” I hoped that this quiz would be relatively normal.

Upon clicking, I realized my grave mistake. Not only was the quiz geared toward those who were well-acquainted with English fashion, TV shows and restaurants, but I did not relate to any answer choice. Nonetheless, I finished the quiz and got my result: “70 percent middle class.”  

The result, however, led me to realize that these quizzes are completely random and, honestly, quite useless.

I was, however, pleasantly surprised when I found the “Which Member of BTS Are You?” quiz. BTS, or Bangtan Boys, is my favorite music group; I was impressed by BuzzFeed’s inclusion of lesser-known fandoms.

Although the questions were irrelevant, asking me about my favorite plant and earthly element, this quiz proved to be right up my alley. As I blasted Bangtan Boys’ “Boy in Luv” and “War of Hormone,” I was ecstatic when I got my favorite member V, or Kim Taehyung.  

To end my exploration into one of BuzzFeed’s most successful and famed operations, I’d like to remind any fellow explorer that most of these questions are arbitrary and quite difficult to answer, especially for someone as indecisive as me. Although I struggled with understanding British culture and the variety of unrelated questions regarding the Bangtan Boys, I’m pleased to report that BuzzFeed quizzes are pleasantly entertaining, however unreliable they may be.

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