I’m not a soggy veggie wrap, but thanks, Buzzfeed

Social media has become flooded lately with results of personality quizzes and Buzzfeed quizzes and the like. They’re everywhere. Nobody is immune to them! My parents and even my older relatives have shared results on their newsfeeds.

We have become obsessed.

I’m one of them, don’t get me wrong. I was curious as to what type of dinosaur I would be (the results: triceratops, “one of the last standing dinosaurs in history, probably because you don’t take crap from anybody”) and what kind of sandwich I would be (a soggy veggie wrap– “your life is a weird tortilla filled with unripe tomato chunks and really terrible hummus”…what does that even mean?), among others.

Why, though? Why do we care so much about what those quizzes will say? Do we really think ten questions about silly little details and preferences will lead to a result that is true and accurate? Apparently we think they’re worth taking, and it’s such a strange phenomenon.

Here’s the truth of the matter: a Buzzfeed quiz won’t tell you who you really are.

Plain and simple. Would you even want it to, really?

I’m not satisfied thinking of myself as a triceratops. I’m not going to move to Washington state because Buzzfeed tells me that’s where I belong. I’m not going to get a typography tattoo because that’s the best kind of tattoo for me. My dad’s results said he should get sleeves, which I encouraged purely because that’s hilarious and not at all like him in real life.

That’s the point really, these quizzes aren’t real life. They aren’t speaking truth (at least not meaningful and worthwhile truth). They aren’t really getting to the core of who we are.

I think we like that ten questions or less leads us to a comical, quirky nugget of a definition that we can hold on to. It gives us something to label ourselves with, even if in just a fleeting way of sharing it on Facebook. Really, truly trying to discover ourselves and our truest identities would take more than ten questions. It would take hard questions. Gut wrenching, palms sweating, stay up all night wrestling kinds of questions.

Discovering who we really are would take more than just a quick quiz, it would take earnest, challenging, time-consuming soul-searching.

Are you ready for that? (Insert Buzzfeed quiz here to find out if you are.)

Got any hilarious or bizarre quiz results to share? Give me the best you’ve heard in the comments below!