Concern around the positive correlation between the slowing economy and the number of Wordle users is growing steadily, revealing itself for the first time this week in national media. Though you may think it can’t be true that this silly word game could have such an effect, it is estimated that there is a 96 percent correlation between the number of people playing the word game, their amount of time spent playing and the plummeting economy.

You may be wondering, “How come I haven’t heard these statistics yet if this is true?” Well, some (me) would argue the media does not want you to know. Why would the New York Times report on the negative effects of Wordle if it is creating the most traction the website has had in nearly a decade?

Anonymous sources have indicated that the New York Times is trying to find a way to implement Wordle into their print newspapers in hopes of selling more copies. It is rumored these new electronic print-like copies will resemble something similar to the moving newspapers from Harry Potter. 

The negative impacts of Wordle can also be seen right here on campus. Students are reported to suffer a 65 percent decrease in attention span while in class due to thinking about doing the Wordle, how they could not figure out the Wordle or actually trying to guess the Wordle while in class.

Political science major Berry Benson ’22 claims the creator of Wordle is a serious threat to our society as we know it. “Most people are so consumed with their fear of Bezos and Zuckerberg that they don’t realize the newest threat – Josh Wardle, the creator of Wordle. I saw a video on TikTok where he said he doesn’t want the game to take over people’s lives,” Benson said.

“Then why is it consuming me, Josh?” 

The debate about whether or not the word game has actually created such big ripples in the economy is still on the backburner, due to most people’s current focus on other debates, such as which B-list celebrity’s outfits “served” at Coachella this year. Nevertheless, many claim it will take years for us to understand the full velocity of the effects of Wordle.