In recent South High News, an anonymous Instagram account has taken a percentage of the student population by surprise by posting over 200 Google Form responses over the span of 5 days. Though the concept of confession pages aren’t new, it can feel as such when a new page is introduced every couple months.
The forms were sent through a link on the account, with the question above “Who do you hate?”
A few were in criticism of teachers and staff, while most were inciting drama within friend groups. The posts had an obvious response in the sophomore and freshman class, sparking arguments and physical encounters that would later be recorded and posted. This could be what started discussion of the profile among school staff.
Junior student Angel Meza when asked if his day to day life had been affected by the posts, stated that it made him think more about his actions.
“Yeah, it makes me happy I’m not the person who that was targeted to..” He said.
When asked about if he’s seen his fellow students in a new perspective, Ernesto Mena, an AVID student and another junior, showed concern for student’s privacy.
“Um, not really, since there were like some students that I didn’t even know or recognized.. it’s bizarre that stuff like that is spread around when it should be kept to themselves.” He stated
Though some were lighthearted, a couple messages left people conflicted on where to stand.
“[Name redacted] really goes for whatever she wants. feel sorry for the dudes that talk to her”
“i see [redacted] at burger king more than school”
“Where was the fights at today”
Others had unserious messages, clearly not taking the account seriously.
“guys follow me @[redacted] and i’ll give you a high five!”
“I miss my ex “
“All yall need to walk faster or i be starting to push yall b—-s”
When asked if he was worried that people would post lies about him, Kale Arebalo, a junior and AVID student responded that he was aware anything could happen.
“Yeah, but like, I’m not really affected by it. People are messy, they really do anything.”
The account posted only a few videos, one having appeared to be reported before the account’s deletion for its hateful imagery. It contained a screen recording of an alleged South High student’s Instagram story, spreading dangerous hate speech. This video did not get a positive response from the students who saw it, possibly reaching those outside of school as well as it gained over 600 views. Within a day or two, the video was removed.
Spectators noticed that the original poster’s family found conflict with the owner of the account and a portion of the students who followed it. Though all posts have since been deleted, an upset mother took to social media to respond to the form and send a message to those who disagreed with the child. The posted form got negative attention from students, causing an argument in the comment section of the post between the mother of the child and a South High student. This argument ended with a threat by the parent, which was ultimately deleted after there was mention of a police report being made.
Two days after this went down, the account informed its followers it would be deleted, making no effort to hide the reason. Followers submitted their last confessions, most expressing their anger towards those who reported it.
“I don’t feel that a crime has been committed during the making of this account because most people submitting things weren’t legal adults… if we were adults, it would probably be taken more seriously.” Robert Graves, another AVID student and Junior stated after being asked about his thoughts on the supposed police report.
The abrupt end to this account left followers confused and upset, while others were relieved. For some, it served as an outlet for frustration towards each other and for others it was a reminder of social media’s brutality. Anonymous hatred will always continue online, the real question is whether it should be something to tolerate or work to eliminate.
