fmylife.com

We laugh when we see a person trip and fall. We can’t get enough of situational dramas full of dysfunctional characters. We secretly wish we had a bucket of popcorn and some Raisinets to snack on when we hear gossip.

And now, we revel in tales of humiliation by strangers in cyberspace.

The Web site www.fmylife.com is quickly becoming a popular attraction, providing its viewers with true stories of misfortune, embarrassment and disaster. The site has existed for a few months, but since the beginning of February, according to a web measurement site called Alexa.com, traffic for the site has increased and is consistently escalating.

I discovered the page about two weeks ago, and it instantly received the honor of being bookmarked on the top of my browser.

The site’s visitors are given the option of either clicking “I agree, your life is f***ed” or “you deserved that one” after they read the posted anecdotes. As I see it, this site epitomizes the German term “Schadenfreude,” which roughly translates to “a pleasure one gets from witnessing the misfortune or humiliation of others.”

Anyone who has ever watched America’s Funniest Home Videos and laughed knows what I’m talking about.

The mission of fmylife.com’s creators is to make viewers laugh. Under the page’s frequently asked questions tab, the introduction states, “On top of being a huge escape valve and delightfully proving that ‘fuck ups’ happen to everybody, fmylife.com aims to be funny and enjoyable to read on a daily basis.”

Mission accomplished.   

Not only do we snicker privately to ourselves when we read anecdotes of other people’s hysterical misery, we click on the option to share the “FML” with our friends so they can also enjoy hearing about other people’s failures.

Why isn’t there a site called mylifeisgreat.com to feature stories of people’s everyday successes? The truth is, it’s not entertaining to hear about job promotions, good grades and functional relationships. We crave drama. It’s human nature. That’s why stories have dramatic arcs. There must be some conflict in order for the audience to be captivated by the action.

Just as novels and movies are formatted to include dramatic arcs, the FML posts must also be submitted in a specified format. The site’s regulators ask that the submission begins with “today” and ends with “FML.”

The bulletin board on the page is moderated. There is a team of people who read the submissions of “FMLs” and decide whether or not the stories are funny enough to be posted.
The development of the site was a brilliant idea and is being executed skillfully. However, it seems like a tribute to Schadenfreude. I know it’s human nature, but perhaps we should be a little bit ashamed of our guilty pleasure. Maybe we should start making more of an effort to revel in the joys and successes of others.
Who am I kidding? We’re all going to hell. FML.