Photo Courtesy of Craigslist Inc. 

 Craigslist, a favorite website for many students at San Luis Obispo High School, has taken a noticeable shift in its targeted audience. Not too long ago Craigslist was a platform to sell various items, adopt pets, and find housing and jobs. Now, frequent Craigslist users have noticed less and less of the normal posts but more and more of lonely people looking for other lonely people. 

  “I’m clearly bored and there nothing to do. I am not looking to meet up with anyone on here just texting only,” said one craigslist ad posted just two days ago. 

  This ad follows a similar trend in many other ads but is more on the subdued side. Others tend to get explicit, where people tend to be feeling lonely in another way. 

  “You know I checked you’re a** out; you had a silver Mazda I think and a drink on top of your car,” said another Craigslist ad entitled “Dirty Laundry”.

  These types of ads, although they may be a smart way of getting in touch, are altering the true meaning behind Craigslist, and would normally be seen on apps targeted to helping people find dates or hookups, like Tinder.

  The  ID’ing of random strangers all because of a quick moment of eye contact or wink is not only desperate but uncomfortable, at times. 

  “I have never used it before. But it seems like a great resource if used safely,” said senior Cypris Hogan. 

  Using this website safely is needed, especially if you plan to meet up with a random stranger to buy or look at something. Originally Craiglist was founded in 1995 and only was made for San Francisco area events. But Craig Newmark, the founder, realized how popular it was in 1996 and broadened it to many different categories. In 2000, all areas got Craiglist and were reaping the benefits it had to offer. 

  “ I use Craiglist all the time. Normally I do not look in the “community” category but when I do I have been seeing more people looking to meet up instead of selling stuff,” said senior Erica Lopmen, a regular Craiglist user. 

  Craigslist has been able to maintain its same platform and design, making the main target the ads, and nothing else extra. This is where it differs from Tinder which is riddled with hidden fees and pop-ups that often fill the website. 

  Although the audience may be shifting, Craigslist was created to benefit the people. If the people desire more human connections rather than selling and buying odds and ends, then the people should be able to morph the platform they use into that, and that is what we are seeing with Craiglist now.