by Kenzie Possee ’15

Since the release of the very first iPhone five years ago, several applications, or “apps,” as we have become accustomed to calling them, have been contenders for the most popular application of all time.

These apps are along the lines of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Angry Birds: apps that all of us have on our phone no matter how little we use them. Recently, a few new applications have thrown their names into the hat for this never-ending competition for supremacy on the App Store charts. Some of these fast-growing applications are Angry Birds Star Wars, Ruzzle, Snapchat, Subway Surf, 4 Pics 1 Word, and Temple Run 2. These games have been integral parts of any procrastinating iPhone owner’s day since their recent releases. Angry Birds Star Wars and Temple Run 2 contain several extensions and revisions of famous original apps, and Ruzzle is a new take on the idea behind Scrabble With Friends.

Snapchat, 4 Pics 1 Word, and Subway Surf are the more original of these new apps. Snapchat is a fun new way to send temporary pictures and messages to friends, while Subway Surf is another chase game, similar to Temple Run 2, but with a new layout and concept. 4 Pics 1 Word shows four images that all have one word in common; this word must be guessed with the help of a letter bank. All of these apps can take credit for being both fun and distracting, often taking up time that could be spent studying or doing work; however, the skills they give us are invaluable in life. For example, from my time spent playing Temple Run 2 and Subway Surf, I have visibly seen improvement in thumb coordination. From Ruzzle and 4 Pics 1 Word I have learned how to think on my feet while putting to use my extensive vocabulary. I have not learned anything from Snapchat, except that my peers are much more willing to send incredibly embarrassing photos of themselves when they disappear after ten seconds, and seeing as I cannot get past Level 1 in the original Angry Birds, I have not even looked at Angry Birds Star Wars, but I am sure it holds several worthy life lessons. Overall, these new apps are going to soon become a part of the staple group of applications on nearly every iPhone owner’s phone, and another way to distract yourself in this mist of an awkward situation.