Kahoot. The name alone evokes a slew of negative emotions due to the stress it induces. Many Ames High students are familiar with the oddly competitive educational tool that creates total mayhem. The brightly colored squares, somewhat threatening instrumental music, and overall mess bring out the worst in all of us. Inevitably, someone will pose as their friend or the most current meme on the leaderboard instead of their given name, causing the teacher to shout, “IS EVERYONE ON WITH THEIR ACTUAL NAME?!” and booting off the third kid who decided they want to be called “ur mom”. This messy kickoff to the bloodbath that will ensue brings a sense of unity to the more passive students in the room, while setting the rest of us who are intensely competitive on edge. Even the logo is a passive aggressive “K!” which reminds me of something I’m sent on a daily basis via text when I’m being rude.

There’s really no point in having a Kahoot competition. It doesn’t particularly help with reviewing material since the questions and answers flash by so quickly. The four multiple choice answers really do not provide any sort of study guide. Gaining points by guessing at random is shockingly easy. The pointlessness of it all is probably what makes so many of us turn into ruthless monsters. Kahoot has evolved past a learning tool, it’s a weapon to put those of us who never pay attention in class in their place. So maybe I’ve theoretically shopped Givenchy bags for the past week, that doesn’t keep me from dramatically sighing in disdain when I miss a point or god forbid, fall off the leaderboard to someone who named themselves after an anime character. Is it reasonable to be irrationally competitive in order to win about 5 minutes worth of bragging rights and to occasionally get to say, “Remember that one time I won Kahoot?’  Realistically, we could be doing so much more with our time than playing Kahoot, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.