stumbling blocks

I can't remember when it all started.

It must have been over a year ago that I was first introduced to "Stumbling".

It's all the rage, you know. All the cool kids are doing it.

And now that I've introduced you to it, you're welcome.

But don't come crawling to me when you can't stop and one hit just isn't good enough anymore. You've been warned.


I actually Stumbled onto this article. It explains the addiction perfectly:

Randomly skimming Internet pages leads to hours of aimless, uncontrollable surfing, wasted time.

By Dan Solley
Fourth-year pre-law student

Published: Tuesday, October 27, 2009


I’ve finally found it — the most powerful and most addicting drug in the entire world. I came across said drug just last week, and I simply cannot shake it.
For instance, last night around 10 p.m. I decided to take a quick hit before going to bed. You know, just enough to help me go to sleep.
Before I knew it six hours had passed, and I was curled up in the fetal position taking hit after hit of this potent substance.
As fourth-year history student Rakan Draz put it, “I don’t see what the big deal is, I mean, sure it’s addicting but it’s both legal and free!” That’s right — legal and free. Can you believe it?
After much deliberation, I have decided to tell the student body how to get their hands on this stuff. The euphoric effect of what I’m about to share with you comes at an incredible price, though, as I have already said. I’m not even sure it is ethical to tell you about this, because you are almost guaranteed to get hooked. But since we are all grown adults, I’ll leave it to you to be a responsible user.
Again, I warn you — this is the most addicting thing that you will ever encounter. I have lost hours of sleep, skipped meals and shunned some of my closest friends for Stumble.
For those of you who are not already familiar with what I’m talking about, you are actually lucky. Stumble, short for StumbleUpon.com, is a community-based Web site that allows users to aimlessly and randomly surf the web.
After initially starting your stumble, a button will appear on the top left corner of your web browser. When you click it you will be taken to some random point on the World Wide Web.
One second, you’re watching a YouTube clip of the world’s fastest painter, then, after a click, you’re reading the recipe for Perfect Brownies. Another click and you’re playing a flash game where you’re attempting to eradicate the world of over sized tapeworms.
Seems harmless enough, right? Yeah, I thought the same thing — just another Web site that can help me kill a few minutes between classes. Little did I know that Stumble has a way of taking hold of its users and not letting go.
Not every site that you are directed to is interesting — some information is boring and absolutely pointless — but I think that keeps you obsessed. You continually stumble through random knowledge hoping to find that one perfect Web site — the Mecca of the Internet. It’s just like a crackhead that is on a constant pursuit for that first high. It just does not exist.
So there you have it — Stumble, an incredible drug, but with devastating addiction potential. Use it, have fun, but please — above all else — be responsible.