There was a time when college students used bathroom walls or personal ads in campus newspapers to express their love or disdain for others.
But why do that, when you can put the same stuff on Facebook for the world to see? Particularly on sites designed for just this sort of thing.
Pick any college in the area, and you are likely to find at least one of these so-called confessions or secret admirer pages dedicated to its students, who are promised anonymity.
You’ll find students expressing lust or loathing for classmates. You’ll read complaints and compliments about instructors and roommates, confessions of cheating and a lot of playful banter.
It’s what used to show up (and probably still does) scribbled out as graffiti, said Steve Jones, a communication professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
People are also reading…
“It had a certain confessional quality,†Jones said. “Some of the intent is pretty much the same.â€
To some, the sites do offer the potential for cyberbullying and general harassment. And like anything else on the Internet, there’s always the danger of discussions veering into controversial waters.
Still, most agree these sites serve as an outlet, offering students a forum to let others know what they’re thinking. And they provide a quick and easy way for students to learn they’ve caught someone’s eye.
Take, for example, a post that popped up a couple weeks ago on the Wash U Admirers page: “Julian Clarke is bangin in those red pants today. yum.â€
Clarke, a freshman from Westport, Conn., laughs about the posting, while admitting to some conflicted emotions.
“As much as I was flattered by it, it was a little creepy,†Clarke said.
Creepy or not, it’s one of the prices we pay for living in such a well-connected society, said Greg Lastowka, a law professor at Rutgers, who specializes in technology issues.
People have always talked about each other. Now it’s just easier to become aware that you are the subject of someone else’s interest. But that, by itself, does not constitute harassment.
“Some people don’t want attention and don’t want people talking about them. They might find that uncomfortable,†Lastowka said. “But we have a First Amendment tradition in this country.â€
Aside from ego boosts and entertainment value, the anonymous posts – and the reactions they draw – also offer insight for those who read the pages, said Kristen Faddis, a junior from ºüÀêÊÓƵ at Washington University.
“It’s interesting to see how people think on campus,†Faddis said. “It’s my community.â€
And while some worry that the anonymity of these confession sites could lead to malicious postings, Faddis and other users say the conversations are, largely, humorous and light-hearted.
“If you’ve seen a lot of the comments, we’re pretty tame,†Faddis said.
Yet that’s not always the case.
The Wash U confessions page is actually in its second life after an earlier version was shut down after someone posted a racial slur. It’s the sort of thing that’s tough to stop, because the moderators only control the initial anonymous posts. After that, users are pretty much free to post whatever they want in response to the confessions.
And some posts are decidedly dark. On the Wash U confessions page, for example, one user talks about fears of disappointing his/her family and about having a drug problem. “I consider suicide every day. I know what method I want to use. I know when and where I want to do it.â€
The comment is followed by several students offering advice and a sympathetic ear.
Such cries for help are likely to be frustrating both for the users and for school administrators who learn about them.
“Some will be phony. Some will be incredibly sincere,†said Jones of the University of Chicago. “But there’s not much you can do about it, unless they identify themselves.â€
That’s because identifying the posters isn’t easy. In fact, there’s no guarantee the posters are even students. At the heart of these confessions sites is an online submission form that shields the poster’s identity, even from the site moderator.
It’s unlikely such a shield would thwart a law enforcement investigation. But universities would likely run into extensive roadblocks if they tried to police these sites, suggested Lastowka from Rutgers.
That’s not to say, however, that schools couldn’t keep an eye out for breaches of student conduct codes by the non-anonymous users. The question is whether they would even make the effort.
“I suppose it depends on the culture of the college, to some degree,†he said.
A sampling of area schools finds a mix of approaches:
At the University of Missouri-Columbia, a spokesman said the school is aware of such trend pages, “but we do not actively monitor them. If we get a specific complaint or report, we do follow up immediately.â€
Washington University, in a statement, said it does not monitor the confessions site. The school said sites like these involve two key values: the right of free expression and the need to create a welcoming environment.
“It is particularly difficult when those values come in conflict with one another, and the university is currently in the process of discussing how it can better educate its students about responsible and respectful use of social media,†the school said.
A spokesman for Lindenwood University said the school is aware of the LU Confessions page and that it is reviewed on a regular basis. The school has had no complaints about the page.
That’s likely due, at least in part, to the job done by moderators to keep the more objectionable material from ever showing up in the first place, said Heather Collins, a recent criminal justice and psychology graduate of Lindenwood University.
“There would be a lot of crazy things on there if they didn’t do that,†Collins said.