Warning. People’s grades might drop, they might ruin their relationship and they might stop talking to their parents.

Freshman Ryan Hodges gives this warning of addiction to those who are considering typing StumbleUpon.com into their browser.

“I use it every day, and it still doesn’t get old,” Hodges said. “To this day, I’m still addicted. It’s something new every time. I have 500 favorites over the course of only a month.”

StumbleUpon<a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/" target="_blank">StumbleUpon</a> is a website that helps users discover and share photos, news, blogs, videos and websites that match their personal interests and preferences. Rather than looking through thousands of results on a search engine, StumbleUpon uses user ratings to determine the website quality. is a website that helps users discover and share photos, news, blogs, videos and websites that match their personal interests and preferences. Rather than looking through thousands of results on a search engine, StumbleUpon uses user ratings to determine the website quality. StumbleUpon is a website that helps users discover and share photos, news, blogs, videos and websites that match their personal interests and preferences. Rather than looking through thousands of results on a search engine, StumbleUpon uses user ratings to determine the website quality.

Of course, the consequences may not be as severe as Hodges describes, but many Baker University students find themselves on the site several times throughout the day or week.

“I use StumbleUpon maybe four times a week, for about a half hour each time,” sophomore Hannah Dalrymple said.

For users like sophomore Hannah Miller, the fact that StumbleUpon is newer drags people to it and away from older websites, like Facebook.

“I like StumbleUpon because it’s a newer thing I’m doing, and I’ve been on Facebook forever,” Miller said. “I always find myself typing in StumbleUpon.”

The website serves many roles, whether they are resourceful or not. In choosing personal interests, users can select topics in their major, so that it might be helpful for tests, papers or simply useful information. However, one of the biggest purposes it serves for students is procrastination.

“It’s a great procrastination tool for me,” Dalrymple said. “I don’t have to think about it. It instantly takes me to a site that I’m interested in.”

StumbleUpon makes it easy to procrastinate, as users can insert the “Stumble!” icon on their Internet toolbars for quick access.

Similar to Facebook, StumbleUpon allows users to share articles with friends, and it will suggest websites that users with similar interests have recommended.

Another feature that adds to the appeal of the website is the Like and Dislike buttons.

“If it takes you to a webpage that’s irrelevant and you don’t like it, you can choose to dislike it,” Hodges said. “Basically, after a while, it’ll only show things that you are interested in.”

Someone on the website could stumble upon anything from a picture of a 35-pound gummy bear to homework help.

However, students should be prepared to sacrifice something. Although people may not lose good grades, or relationships, or contact with parents, they will most likely lose track of time.