Samantha Apanasewicz
Pop Trends Columnist
If you are anything like me, the first 10 minutes of sitting in the library consists of checking Instagram. After a grueling 50-minute class in the morning, everyone needs a minute to de-stress and take your mind off of the homework sitting in front of you. Some call it “procrastination.” I call it “mental health maintenance.”
Now to clear the air of any rumors, yes, I actually complete homework in the library, even if no one is there to witness that accomplishment. But once I sit down, I like to properly orient myself and remind myself why, exactly, I should not spend a huge chunk of my day on social media by opening Instagram.
Ah, yes, the app that hasn’t decided what kind of media it wants to primarily promote. We thought they were into just pictures for a while, but then videos started popping up. And now we have longer videos that can only be viewed in full-screen mode for whatever reason, plus the two guys on Instagram’s back alleys who post their recorded podcasts for their two viewers.
I scroll past all the many iconic Catholic meme pages, all the official FUS accounts posts and all the RA introduction posts to stop at “The (Un)Official Overheard @ Franciscan” Instagram page, a place that never fails to make me crack a smile.
This page is anonymously run, unaffiliated with the Facebook group and independent of official Franciscan-run social media accounts. But, let’s be honest, it shouldn’t be.
The page has 1,109 followers (and counting) which is more than half of the current on-campus study body. Honestly, it’s the new way Franny students get their news on the Franciscan culture now. The best way to engage an audience is through comedy, and the administrator of this account grasps this concept well.
If you haven’t looked at your phone recently, the page @overheardfus on Instagram’s format is simple: invite students to DM their out-of-context quotes and where it was heard on campus, and then use a consistent format to post regularly, spreading joy to the Franciscan community every day.
Here are some examples of some of the services @overheardfus has to offer:
Overheard in the Caf: “I’ll never lose my virginity because I never lose.”
Overheard in Egan: “I cyberbullied the soft serve machine Instagram.”
Overheard in Louis/Liz: “He gave me a 0 out of 1? That’s me-phobic.”
The account has also recently started to accept picture submissions, examples of which include the campus Spider-Man and the shark-head guy stationed outside Francis, which I thoroughly enjoy.
Only now after viewing Overheard’s new posts in the mornings am I fully ready to tackle the schoolwork that is sitting in front of me on the library desk.
If you haven’t pulled out your phone while reading this column to follow @overheardfus, I invite you to take this opportunity to add a little more spontaneous hilarity to your social media scrolling. These quotes add a much-needed palate cleanser to the often-monotonous influx of content Instagram has to offer.