In the age of the internet, the sharing of information has taken new forms: including high school gossip. Instead of burn books or mild trash talk, high schoolers have put the technology at their fingertips to use… for better or for worse.

Now, West Seattle students have described their thoughts and experiences with gossip and confession accounts that fluctuate between being active, inactive, and banned on Instagram.

According to a student who has seen several gossip accounts, they usually feature things like crushes and confessions.

Some students claimed that nothing significant is ever really posted on gossip accounts, and they’re often unserious and silly platforms. For example, West Seattle senior Katie described the playful side of confessions accounts: ones that will tell ridiculous stories that are so “out there” and clearly made up, that they’re only created for laughs and entertainment. According to Katie, that flavor of gossip account might jokingly claim that a certain student still believes in Santa Claus or will say that a West Seattle teacher has a secret drawer full of Red Bulls that they secretly sip on in class. Neither harmful nor constructive, those posts don’t seem to have much of an effect on the school environment or students’ self-esteem.

However, other accounts have nastier posts meant to insult and tear people down. Sophomore Mia characterized some of the more negative confessions that people send in: people using the platform to call others “bitches”, “cunts”, or just plain annoying, taking advantage of the security of their anonymity and utilizing the lack of repercussions they would face.

During my interviews, I asked people to imagine a situation where something insulting was said about them on a gossip account. Everyone seemed to agree that it would be an uncomfortable and distressing situation. When asked what the worst part about that scenario might be, Katie explained that it would be the initial finding out about it and facing others after the incident. She said that she wouldn’t like how people might come up to her and tell her what they saw. In the last decade or so, and at other schools across America, various online gossip platforms have impacted students; the experience Katie described has been the unfortunate reality of many.

But at West Seattle, no one seems to take confessions about others very seriously. While some people have been offended by these posts, few care about the opinions of the kind of people that would really go as far as to submit an anonymous Google Form about their “opps”. Sophomore Franki said it’s “immature” to post bad things about people rather than bringing it up to people’s faces. Not knowing who said something negative about someone couldn’t possibly solve a conflict and might even create further problems when people’s words are put out of context.

Anonymous insults on these pages can lead to an environment of mistrust within the student population. Katie said that when something is posted on a gossip account, it’s really unsettling to have no idea who said that about you. “It could be your best friend, and you wouldn’t know”.

Walking around school not knowing whether the person who posted about you was someone they don’t know or the person sitting right next to them might cause someone to feel like everyone thinks that negative thing about them. This might make them feel less comfortable at school, or harm their self-esteem.

During my investigation, I wondered whether the people I interviewed followed any gossip pages. When prompted, some said no because they “didn’t want to see” that stuff, or because they never said anything about people they care about. Or, if they said yes, they followed gossip pages purely for defensive reasons. For example, Mia explained that she does follow some of those accounts because “I want to know if anything is posted about me, and if there is, I want to be the first to know.”

So, while these accounts don’t seem to be taken seriously or ever post anything significant, I’ve concluded that there’s still a slight underlying fear among students that such pages might say something negative about them. At the end of the day, maybe it’s that possibility that fuels the following and attention of gossip pages?