As relatable as the original site was, Elon students can relate to the references to West End nights, Fraternities’ Banquets, the Burlington Wal-Mart and squirrels, just to name a few. People have been talking about the site, and putting many of the posts on Facebook. This is just the latest in Elon-specific accounts across social media networks.
Life at Elonhas been able to bring the campus together over shared experiences, similar to the brains behind various Elon parody Twitter accounts, such as @OnlyatElon, @xoGossipSquirl and @ElonSquirrelz. Creator of the handle @OnlyatElon gained the most popularity the fastest, but they were not the first on the scene. “The twitter handle @ElonGirlProblems inspired me. My friends and I were sitting in the common room and my friend said ‘‘Only at Elon’- that should be an account on Twitter’. I still don’t think it’s funny, but people do.”
Sophomore Libby Schell is one of the students who agree that the trend has passed. “I think Elon students are getting way to invested in this ‘customized social media’ trend. It’s not as hilarious as people think.”
Not everyone shares this opinion, though. Elizabeth Kantlehner, a sophomore said, “I think Life at Elon is hysterical I think it’s funny to put and Elon spin on something that everyone already finds funny.”
All of these celebrities’ accounts have helped the school to bond over social media and shared experiences solely found at Elon, but the anonymity keeps everyone curious as to whom these celebrities are.
However, creator of @OnlyatElon likes the anonymity though, and believes it is for the greater good. “If everybody knew, it would be like when they found out Santa Clause wasn’t real. It preserves the magic for the Elon students.”
So maybe we will never know, but these celebrities have brought lots of LOLs to this campus and given the community something to talk about, which can only be using their new-found celebrity power for good.
What about the celebrity of the creators behind the accounts? @OnlyatElon creator may have said it best- “I’m just an ordinary Elon kid who tweets extraordinary things.”