Well, it is in the site’s interest to have users spend as much time there as possible, so creating endless distractions that will keep users from surfing away is a profitable enterprise. I wouldn’t say that it is an act of ‘society’ that spawns these trivial features, but rather that it has been allowed to happen by the eagerness of people in general, and procrastinating students in particular, to spend their time doing fun, meaningless things rather than addressing important issues.