It’s so temping to share with the world Facebook how miffed you were when your roommate stumbled in at 3 a.m. on a Tuesday night with some rando. Your girlfriends at home would def feel your pain, and you know they’d leave a few snarky comments on you wall to help ease the severe mental damage you sustained from being woken up at such an ungodly hour. Like I said, tempting option. But is it your best option? See what Marysa’s got to say below!

Got a roommate question you want tackled? Email it to editor (at) collegecandy (dot) com and use the subject line “Ask a Roommate.”

There are a lot of complicated things in life – like trying to figure out what’s going on in the Middle East, or why Charlie Sheen is still famous, or what outfit to wear this Friday night. But your Facebook relationship status should not be one of them.

Lesson 12:  “It’s Complicated” but we don’t need to know that.

There are so many things wrong with the “It’s Complicated” status that sometimes I wonder if Facebook just threw it up on the profile settings just for kicks and giggles. Maybe this so-called relationship status comes with the territory of our generation’s tendency to overshare on social media sites, but this is almost as bad as your sister posting a home video of giving birth to her firstborn on Facebook and tagging it, “a miracle.”

Why would you feel the need to tell the world that you are basically incapable of having a real relationship? And if you are capable of having a real relationship, this status says you blatantly prefer the drama of an “It’s Complicated” situation more. Because really, if it’s that complicated, you probably shouldn’t be with the person.

In what situation does the “It’s Complicated” actually benefit someone? Certainly not when you meet a new guy and he adds you on Facebook with hopes of sending a flirty little message to ask you out. And certainly not when your mom adds you and you don’t really need another reason for her to hate your taste in men.

Whatever just happened to being in a relationship or not? Don’t get me wrong, I love a good fear of commitment as much as the next person, just ask some of my exes. But if you’re going to get on Facebook to tell the Internet about your relationship status, stop and consider that maybe the only people who care if “It’s Complicated” are the people who already know it. The rest of us? Could care less. And let’s be real, are probably going to judge you for it.

Not only does the “It’s Complicated” status almost completely wipe out the potential for a new relationship, it does nothing but emphasize your taste for the more dramatic things in life. Whether we like it or not, never have two words said so much about a person. The minute someone reads the “It’s Complicated” status on someone’s page, the assumptions begin to flow like Keystone at a frat Kegger.

The worst part? The list of things people could assume are endless. People may assume you’re a drama fiend who treats every relationship like a battlefield or that you’re a pushover who cant come out from under some douche bag’s heavy hand or that you have serious emotional issues or even worse, that you’ve only ever dated people with serious emotional issues. And believe me, the list goes on.

Whether you care what the world thinks or not, the bottom line is that the “It’s Complicated” status is so not sexy. So if you keep asking yourself why your love life is at a standstill, you might want to reconsider your Facebook relationship status of choice.

In order for you to open your life to new love, you have to let go of old love (or lust) not because it’s the right thing to do, but because, how the hell else is the rest of the world supposed to know you’re single and looking?

Got it? Now get the first 11 rules of the Single Girl Society right here.

No scratch that, I hate it, actually. But what I do like is what that week represents. It’s the beginning of the end. The start of the finish. You’re over the hump. The semester is almost over. You’ve finally reached those last few dreadful weeks. And okay, maybe that doesn’t seem like something to be happy about, maybe you want to pull your hair out right now? Maybe you’re stressed? Sure, but just think, in a couple of weeks it will all be over.

How can you be sure that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel? Here are just a few signs that the semester is almost over.

10. You’ll do anything to avoid your homework. Okay. Time to get serious. You have a lot to get done these less few weeks. Time to buckle down and start working. No distractions. No Facebook. No phones. Reading time. But wait…you have been meaning to reorganize your desk. And your bookshelf. And…you get the idea.

9. You’re staying in instead of going out. Thirsty Thursday? Try thesis Thursday. You have so many papers due, so many pages of reading to get through, so much to get done in such a short amount of time you can’t even think about going out. Well, okay you think about it (and even plan your outfit) but then you don’t go. And you reward yourself for being such a studious student by taking a five minute break to Facebook-stalk. The next thing you know, four hours have gone by and your roommate is stumbling in, ready to tell you all about her great night. The one you missed.  And you still didn’t do you reading. Oops.

8. You can no longer find a seat in the library. It’s not like you’re hanging out in the library all that often, but every once in a while when you need to take a nap write  a paper, you head on over, and you expect there to be seating. But towards the end of the semester? You can’t even find a floor spot in the corner near a plug.

7. Each and every one of those people fit into one of these categories. Go read them. No explanation needed.

6. Facebook statuses start appearing in countdown code. You know, those Facebook statuses that start popping up about a week before the semester ends, listing everything the person needs to get done between now and then. Sort of like, five finals, four papers, three days, two meetings, and one nap until winter break. Not that I’ve ever participated in such a thing. Not at all.

5. You’ve decided it no longer makes sense to do laundry. There’s only a few weeks left of the semester, and your Mom helped you out so much when you were home for Thanksgiving. You’ve got enough undies to get you by. If you just hold off until then, you won’t have to scrounge for change or waste precious moments waiting for your clothes to dry. Mom will be happy to help. And you can make it. Sort of….

Did you just sniff your shirt?

4. You have to use your credit card for your coffee. I don’t live on campus so I don’t have a meal plan. But I do have did have flexicash (you know, like a giftcard for the student coffee shop). It provides me with infinite amounts of caffeine and chocolate chip muffins whenever I need them. Except now. Because I ran out. Just when I need my coffee the most, DAMNIT!!! The other day, I charged change. Yes, change. 89 cents to be exact. For a banana. It’s time for winter break.

3. You’re no longer speaking to your roommate. You two are actually quite close, really. But it’s that kind of close that only works for small periods of time. Not months and months in cramped quarters. And not during such a trying time in your life. Sure, her jokes are cute and funny in October, but now? Now the only thing that makes you laugh is the thought of beating her with a pillow while she sleeps.

2. Professors can’t even be bothered to show up to class. In the past month, my professor has canceled my Senior Seminar more times than I can count. You know it’s bad when a senior’s response to a canceled class is “Again?” followed by a disgruntled groan. I firmly believe that if your professor can’t be even be bothered to make it to class then it’s just time to call it a semester already. We won’t mind, really.

1. You can’t even remember the last time you read for class. I don’t know about you ladies, but once the last few weeks of the semester approach (or basically as soon as I come back from Thanksgiving) I just can’t seem to find it in me to read for class anymore. I mean, the semester is practically over, isn’t it? And you have so many papers to finish up, and final assignments to turn in that those books you won’t need to know anything about (because that class doesn’t have a final) seem less and less important.

Ew. Is it over yet?!

[Check out Jenn's other musings-in-the-form-of-a-list here.]

He’s full of empty promises and is always “I really care about your privacy and I’m not going to show the whole world that photo of you doing naked Olympics.” Then he turns around the next day and broadcasts everything to the world with a “seriously, you’ll end up liking the fact that everyone, including your mother, knows exactly what you did this weekend. And if you don’t, then go back to that dirty heathen of a boyfriend, Myspace, and see if I care.”

And now he’s done it again. He’s introduced a Foursquare for Facebook, called Facebook Places, that takes everyone’s favorite stalker application to the next level. Not only will your friends, frenemy’s, second cousins, and co-workers be able to check into locations, but they’ll also be able to check you into locations. Apparently they’re claiming that it’s just like tagging someone in a photo because it has a detag option. Except tagging an ugly photo of me on Facebook in not equivalent to telling the Facebook community that I’m in the third stall at the Olive Garden on Grove street.

Change your privacy settings today or prepare to see your entire life ruined. Think I’m exaggerating? Just look at my Wikipedia-approved reasoning:

1. No More Lying – So you wanted to get out of your friend’s birthday dinner (because she always insists on wearing a tiara and “kiss me, it’s my birthday sash”) and made up a story about having to cram for a hugeeee test the next day. Instead you go out with some other friends to happy hour where they tag you as being at the bar. Add some photo proof to that tag and you’re about to be defriended…in real life. And that’s the least of your issues. How about the fact that you got out of your boyfriend’s great aunt’s funeral by telling a small white lie that you were really, really sick — only to be location-tagged as being at the school’s biggest tailgate party ever.

2. No More Privacy – Facebook stalking is a totally healthy part of life, real life stalking is a total calling card to spend some time in prison. The two are about to overlap pretty quickly when your stalker starts literally following you from class (because your lab partner tagged you) to the library (because your freshman your roommate spotted you across the stacks and tagged you) to Starbucks (because somehow the barista and you are Facebook friends and she’s trying real hard to be web-savvy).

3. No More Conversation Topics – Facebook has already destroyed 90% of small talk with statuses, newsfeeds, and photo albums. This latest feature will drive the nail into the coffin when your friend starts telling you about her trip home for the weekend and you stop listening because you saw that she checked in to every single place she’s mentioning…including her high school boyfriend’s basement.

4. No More Peace – Get ready for a newsfeed overload, because unlike the privacy-respecting ladies who read CollegeCandy, there are some people out there who will use Facebook Places and use it in excess. If you already thought the Foursquare check-ins were annoying, you’re about to be overwhelmed by what you’re about to learn about your friends. From their walk of shame routes to their drunken check-ins, you will know more about your friends, roommates, T.As, etc., than you ever dreamed possible.

So there you have it. It’s officially the end of privacy. Now it’s up to you whether you want to take the plunge and deactivate (social suicide) or take the risk, stay on, and act cool when your dad’s friend checks him into “Naked Ladies Who Aren’t Your Mom Strip Joint.”

What else is going on? You mean besides sweat-induced breakouts, funky tan burn lines, and 24/7 cravings for popsicles? Yeah, not much. Thank god all those ass-hats in Hollywood are keeping it real, otherwise I’d have nothing to do with myself while I spend my days huddled up on the air conditioning vent in my bedroom. Speaking of bedrooms, have you entered the CollegeCandy contest to win a total bedroom makeover?!

Perhaps reflecting on the week that was will cool things down a bit.

- Mel Gibson has officially gone off the deep end and taken on the title of Douchebag of the Century.

- Could you be one of these people? Here are six friends you’ll never see over summer break

- Kate and Jon didn’t work out, neither did Jake and Vienna. But what about Kate…and Jake? Maybe these new matchups will last in Hollywood.

- Wanna have sex? Forget about it. Let’s watch porn instead. Read about the new phenomenon about porn replacing sex.

- Short hair in, long hair out. Read about one CC writer’s obsession with short hair. (And rightfully so, look at Audrey Hepburn!)

- While you’re lounging poolside soaking up the sun, one post-grad is slaving away to prepare for the LSATs. Who do you think is having more fun? Hint: you.

- Emma Watson: smart, sucessful and the face of Burberry. Read why everyone here at CollegeCandy loves her style.

- Tired of working out every time you go out to eat? Eat these healthy foods and rock that hot summer bod.

- Guys are complicated. Wait, no they’re not.

[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month

And so ends my first full week of no gossip…. and it was pretty tough.  I would go to tell my family, friends, or boyfriend something and before I even opened my mouth I would have to ask myself if it was gossip. A lot of times, it would be, so I would have to stop, come up with another topic and start over. Naturally, it created an abnormal and totally awkward pause, but overall the people I spoke to were very supportive.

At the beginning of the week, it was refreshing having this challenge, because it felt good to talk about someone positively when others were talking about them negatively. When my boyfriend was venting to me because he was frustrated, for example, I immediately tried to look at things from the other person’s perspective. It wasn’t reprimanding; it was just being rational. Rather than being upset, my boyfriend thanked me, and told me that he understood the situation better after me being positive about the person he was talking about.

So, yeah, things were going pretty good.
For awhile…

Then at the end of the week, I started making excuses for myself. “That isn’t gossip,” I would say. “That’s just something they posted on Facebook.” It wasn’t right, I’ll admit, but I did it nonetheless. And seriously, Facebook is like a gossip machine. I mean, come on, how many of us talk about things that come up on our feed? Like a gag-worthy status or a really mean wall post? It’s nearly impossible to hop on Facebook and not gossip. Lesson learned.

After that minor snafu, things are going better – I am thinking before I blab, and it is getting easier. I just need to stop making excuses from myself. I set this challenge up and I need to commit to it! I just hope my friends don’t get annoyed with the more positive, rational Christie 2.0. I mean, after all, sometimes all a girl wants to hear after venting is “wow, that really sucks,” or “what a bitch” – not “well maybe she didn’t mean to do that, she really is a sweet person.”

We’re all well aware of the friends every girl needs, but what about the friends nobody wants? Is there anything more annoying than having to avoid a friend that you hate? It’s like, “stop calling me every day and messaging me on Facebook all the time and showing up in my bedroom when I’m sleeping.”

No matter how mean you are or how many times you send out restraining orders, these are the friends that keep clawing their way back into our lives.

1. The Clinger
The clinger’s ability to latch on to you and never ever let go puts any reoccurring STD to shame. She’s running next to you at the gym, She’s ordering shots next to you a the bar, and she’s lathering right alongside you as your shower. Your subtle text messages, “do not come over tonight under any circumstances or I will spike your drink with laxatives” don’t seem to have any impact on her willingness to always be right by your side.

2. The Pauper
The pauper actually gets herself off on complaining about being poverty-stricken, despite being comfortably middle class. It’s hard to avoid her since she’s been sleeping on your couch for the past 6 months – it’s not like she afford rent on top of going out every night. She’ll not only make you feel guilty about doing any shopping outside of the dollar store, but she’ll also make you feel like a complete a-hole for hesitating when she asks you to pick-up her bar tab, buy her new notebooks for class, and get her a year-long Match.com membership.

3. The Millionaire
The millionaire not only grew up with a silver spoon in her mouth, but also 6 credit cards, and a bundle of foreign currency. She likes nothing more than to literally light a fire and burn money right in front of your eyes.  When she’s not using dollar bills to clean off her Blackberry screen, she’s explaining the (OMG so obvious) benefits of $150 white tank tops.

4. The Ego Maniac
The Ego Maniac booked such a long power trip that you’re not sure that she’ll make it back in time to start her year-long expedition riding on the world’s highest horse. She doesn’t brush her teeth or walk down the stairs without updating her Twitter to tell everyone how well she did it. Needless to say, She’s not at all interested in your life unless she can somehow figure out how spin the recent death of your grandmother into a story of how the Starbucks barista complimented her on her coffee ordering skills.

5. The Planner
The planner is the ringleader of incredible fun and unforgettable good times within your group of friends. Or so she thinks in her head as she manically pencils in lunch dates and Facebook chat sessions six months from now. Everyone else refers to her as the Nazi that made you sleep on the sidewalk for a week while you waited in line for concert tickets that didn’t even sell out.

6. The Complainer
The complainer alternates between wallowing around in self pity and sighing until someone finally asks what’s wrong. And something is always wrong. Her computer froze for 6 minutes at work or everyone keeps chanting Eeyore whenever she speaks or, God forbid, her shoelace came untied when she was walking.

7. The Klepto
Forget leaving your wallet with her while you go to the bathroom or letting her spend time alone in your apartment unsupervised. The klepto will shamelessly pocket everything that’s not permanently attached to you. It’s absolutely amazing you how many times one of your possessions go missing just as the klepto finds the exact same one-of-a-kind item at some store on that street by that corner in that place.

8. The Social Media Junkie
Any amount of time spent with the social media junkie is meticulously recorded on Twitter and Facebook. Jackie is meeting up with John. Jackie is asking John what is up. Jackie is wondering why John always has last minute work things whenever they’re supposed to hang out. Jackie is so alone.

9. The Flirt
Forget ever picking up any guys when you’re out with the flirt becaue she has an amazing abilty to entice every single guy she meets. She’s a pro at the seductive arm grab and the “throw your head back and laugh while making sure your hair stays in place.” She’ll shamelessly go after any guy you’re interested in just to prove she’s sexier than you — her boyfriend be damned.

1. Dating
After you make out with a guy, do you friend request him? If so, how long do you wait? What about that cute boy in your lecture? Will he think it’s weird that you know his last name? Do you write on his wall? If he doesn’t write back, is he not interested? OMG, he “likes” your status, what does that mean!?  With all this virtual interpretation, there’s hardly time for a real date (or more realistically, a real romp-in-the-hay).

2. Your GPA
I know I’m not the only one that spends more time Facebook creeping in the library than actually studying, and term papers take much longer when you’re logging in to check your News Feed after every paragraph. Especially when that News Feed says “(insert ex’s name here) is in a relationship.” Cue mental breakdown and tears. In the library. Do you see where I’m going with this?

3. Friendships
When we can keep in touch with our friends via wall-to-walls and see what’s going on in their lives from status updates, it’s easy to forget that weekly phone call. Then when you’re finally home for summer together, it seems like you haven’t actually talked in ages. Because you haven’t.

4. Family TMI
Somewhere along the way, adults mistakenly determined it was okay for them to have Facebook too. So that status you posted about your 58 second keg stand? Yeah, Grandma saw that. And that wildly inappropriate TFLN your BFF put on your wall because it totally applies to you? Auntie Deb saw that too. And if you “marry” your roomie on Facebook, get ready, because at Thanksgiving dinner you WILL be asked when you decided to become a lesbian.

5. Your Future
Some organizations have sneaky ways of getting around those privacy settings (if you remember to use them in the first place), and they will stalk you. Turns out those pictures of you funneling beers while getting a piggyback ride from a guy in a lacrosse pinny and the “I’m soo hungover” status updates don’t go over so well with the big boss man. Even if you’re the most responsible student ever, Facebook faux-pas can make you unemployable in an instant.

….Wait a second, we needed a study to prove this??

It is no secret that social media outlets run our lives.  Whether it Facebook, Twitter, or the variations trying to prove their worth (what up, MySpace?), we are constantly connected.  Even on the go, we can count on our trusty iPhones and Blackberrys to bring these outlets to us.

But back to the study. The participants were forced to go one entire day without media of any kind and then blog their feelings when the 24-hour period was up. (Seems a little counter-intuitive, no?) Those who made it through (not surprisingly, some did not) reported that although surrounded by people, they felt completely isolated.

“Texting and IM-ing my friends gives me a constant feeling of comfort,” wrote one student. “When I did not have those two luxuries, I felt quite alone and secluded from my life. Although I go to a school with thousands of students, the fact that I was not able to communicate with anyone via technology was almost unbearable.”

At first glance, that student seems rather pathetic. But think about it: most of us can easily relate to the feeling. Whenever something happens, many of us instantly turn to Facebook or Twitter to share it. That’s why sites like that, and others like TFLN, exist. We are constantly sharing with others and every time a new outlet pops us that allows us to do so, we hop on board. It’s gotten to the point that if some worthy (or even unworthy) news event is not on Facebook, it is as if it never happened.

When my power went out during a windstorm last month, the thing I was most upset about was that I could not log onto to Facebook to update my status with, “NO POWER? WTF?” I felt lost and without a clue. How could I possibly get through this blackout without hearing my friends comments pertaining to my unfortunate situation?? And without Internet access, what was I supposed to do to pass the time?

Pathetic? Maybe. True? Absolutely.

For the angered few who disagree with me/are judging me as you read this, you will probably proceed to comment on this blog expressing your opposing view, thus further proving my point. You feel your voice needs to be heard, and unless you post it, it is not.

I mean, just look at the article on The Huffington Post; it’s flooded with irony on the subject.  Under the headline is a link to Facebook to give readers a chance to blog about the topic.  When opened, there is a beauty ad directly on top.  Bordering the ad is the option to “like” this product before any of your friends, and additional links to tweet and buzz about it.  The last sentence begs readers to share their feelings: “Do these findings surprise you? Could you go 24 hours without social media?” And following this conclusion: Get HuffPost College on Twitter!

One article, 3 opportunities to connect to others regarding the one article.

Oh, the irony.  The truth is, study or no study, we are addicted, and there is no form of rehab that could even begin to pull us out.