‘We are all chopped and we all need jobs’: the epidemic of ERHS confession accounts

Disclaimer: The sentiments expressed in the article are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of everyone on our staff at The Eagle’s Scream. Thank you.

--Vivienne Freeman, Editor-in-Chief

For a long time now, there has been a general acknowledgment of a particular genre of Instagram account at this school. “ERHS fights” comes to mind as a classic of sorts. As I assume most students know, the account posted submitted videos of students in physical altercations on campus. From an ethical standpoint, not great. However, there arguably exists something far worse in this same vein of content. Confession accounts are a virus that continues to mutate, reinventing itself with more nuance–or rather brutality–than previously seen. They exist as a case study, rather than a ‘social experiment’ as some will claim to be, into the teen psyche on a drug called anonymity. 

One of the big questions that is posed toward our generation, the media we consume, and mainly how we interact with each other is “What happens when someone is given anonymity?” With social media, it is nearly impossible for the average person to identify someone persistent and careful enough to hide who they are. As such, this is not really a debate; what we have rather, is a multifaceted question. The answer of which will generally leave you with something along the lines of this: it changes how people act. Yeah, I mean, obviously. If you had no consequences for what you said you’d probably say anything that came to mind. So does that make online anonymity a simulation of a world with a lack of repercussions? Is the digital space a sort of altered reality, a warped version of our world? 

There are a lot of words you can use to describe confession accounts: “nasty”, “cesspool”, “perverted”, “occasionally sentimental”, or even “funny”… all of which may be correct, but there really is more here than what meets the eye. Naturally, there are a lot of questions that may come to mind when trying to figure out what these accounts want and why people say the things they do on them. To tackle all of them would be ideal, however, it is simply impossible given the “anonymous” aspect–which actually plays quite a big part of the whole operation.

That being said, everyone I’ve talked to (or at least those with a shred of empathy) has told me they hold a certain disdain for these accounts, that they despise what they stand for and the hate they spread. But why is it that the popular opinions on the matter always seem to be the quietest? Well, the truth is that this is nothing new. I don’t believe these accounts are even trying to be anything new. It’s clear that they are simply a form of cyberbullying.

We’re quick to dismiss cyberbullying now since many teens have become far more digitally literate. It’s now common knowledge of the ways we protect ourselves by blocking those insulting us online, grounding ourselves by reaching out to people in our real life, and reporting accounts that are targeting us anonymously. However, cyberbullying is still a very real problem. This January, The New Yorker published an article on a mother in Michigan who was found guilty of anonymously cyberbullying her own daughter–which she got away with doing for over a year. These situations have real consequences on the mental health of young people and can be very difficult to resolve. It brews distrust and weakens communities. And it’s happening at our school too.

The reign of the account “erhs.anonymous”, a private Instagram account operating via Google Form, advertising their willingness to post anything submitted–even criticisms of the account itself–has begun again. During the account’s initial run, its lack of censorship resulted in something quite phenomenal: an ecosystem. One that is undisturbed and laughed along with because of, to some extent, social dynamics. While many people find the account funny, if you have a one-on-one with someone about these accounts, you’ll likely hear a very different story. Holding the chance of public humiliation and social ostracization over students’ heads creates what is essentially a Big Brother effect. Fear of being heard or seen keeps one in line. No one is safe anymore. Yes, it sounds dramatic, but that doesn’t make it untrue. People are afraid to speak out and voice their discontent over the existence of these accounts. This is because in a school of 2000 students, the wrong person simply knowing your name makes you a target. When speaking to a student on the matter, she told me “Once one person says something about you, you become the new target. Everyone suddenly has something to say all at once.”

I think that people get too afraid to say this kind of stuff publicly because the fact is, positivity is a lot harder to sell than negativity. It feels cringey to come into the comment section of a post with like 40 likes and start preaching about the moral sins it exemplifies because the fact is that no one cares and has already forgotten about it. As such high school cruelness continues to reinvent itself.

It’s hard not to feel bad for the people who get posted onto these pages, because even as an observer it feels so violating. It sucks. Everyday people were being insulted and publically humiliated. People were sexualized and made to feel really uncomfortable. It’s one thing to think the things these people say, but to then have it be made public, permanent, and available for that subject of those comments to see and be aware of is frightening and it makes students feel unsafe around their peers. And it’s not just students. Teachers have become victims of these accounts. There are entire pages dedicated to dishing on teachers, berating the ones they hate, and sexualizing the ones they like. There is truly no winning.

It can’t be controversial to say that these accounts are bad. Because they are. They can be funny, sure, but the service they provide simply breeds bad. It can’t be said for certain that the intentions of the people who make these accounts are malicious, but that's what they have become. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but the truth is the people who run these accounts are desperate for attention. They are not social scientists, they’re 16-years old. If they were scientists it would be a pretty shoddy experiment anyway because functionally all they are doing is opening a forum for students to cyberbully their peers. If you are thinking about starting up a new confessions page, ask yourself why you’re doing it. What is compelling you to open the door to hate speech and–to be frank–make your peers hate themselves and the people in their community? 

Regarding those who submit to these pages, one obviously cannot know the identities of these individuals, but in all honesty, it’s clear they need to seek help. Well-adjusted people do not walk around, noticing the flaws in other people’s appearance. A well-adjusted person doesn’t submit an anonymous message describing someone as ‘a fat pig’ unless they themself feel insecure about how they look. No matter who they are talking about, or how right they think they are, the truth–the one that everyone who is normal can see–is that these individuals are deeply unhappy and will always be in the wrong if this is how they approach conflict. 

I know that sometimes they're funny, but if we can agree negativity outsells positivity, we can agree that bad carries a lot more weight than good. No one goes to these accounts to see “I love Mrs. ____!” They come to see students and teachers get insulted, degraded, shamed, and made to be the center of drama. And despite all this, the account is once again back and running. So I urge students at Eagle Rock to disengage. The fact of the matter is that no good can come from these accounts in the long term, and thus, their time has come.

Below, I have linked several resources that regard dealing with cyberbullying as a teen. I implore you to look through them whether you have been affected or not. No matter how members of our staff feel about this account in particular, we are all vehemently against cyberbullying and the Eagle’s Scream as a publication follows the utilitarian code of journalistic ethics–and thus we will not stand for this.

1. Cyberbullying: Tips for Teens—National Crime Prevention Council

2. Cyberbullying Online Resource Center for Girls—girlshealth.gov

3. What to Do if You are Bullied—StopBullying.org

4. Online Safety Video Series (including Sextortion) for Middle and High School—NCMEC (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children) 

5. Report Cyberbullying—Describes how and to whom to report cyberbullying—StopBullying.org