As a Northeastern University student who craves the instant gratification of a relatable college-themed meme, but who is starting to find the incessant pokes at ISEC 2 and the Green Line trolleys mildly overdone, it appears to be time to expand my horizons in terms of Northeastern social networking content. It doesn’t actually require much effort to find; there are not one but two Northeastern Instagram meme pages with a plethora of original jokes. However, if you desire some more niche content, say, relating to the misadventures of dating, love, and sex during the precipice of your romantic life — look no further. 

Romantic love is, perhaps, at least relevant to some of us. The Instagram account @northeasternlove is a place for humorous confessions of individual attraction, or for “all the kappa sig boys,” as one post establishes. Sadly, the account has not been active since May of last year, so the private Facebook group, NU Crushes, is most students’ preferred social media for anonymous, candid declarations of love. Some users choose to post unrestrained ramblings about the state of their current hookup. Others hope that their desired frat boy will stumble upon their post and experience a moment of clarity. As with any social networking site, the best jokes get the most likes; hence a recent post stating, “I am a CATCH so why haven’t I been CAUGHT” yielded over 300 reactions. Other notable moments include disclosures of co-op crushes, and my favorite, “Christian is almost disarmingly attractive,” which is such an eloquently crafted sentence to be sent into the void that is the NU Crushes Facebook group. Ultimately, NU Crushes is mostly a space that values creativity over legitimacy, which can perhaps be said for all Facebook groups targeted to the college student demographic.

NU Crushes briefly satiated my desire for more brain-stimulating content that the antiquated NU Meme collective could not deliver. However, as my eyes strained to read my phone screen and my thumb got sore from all the mindless scrolling, I realized that I needed a break. Perhaps my search was futile, and the best remedy for this dilemma is to simply — I know I sound like my mom here — put down the phone. If not for the sake of being a more attentive friend, then do it to access the immediate pleasure that comes with fresh memes.