What allows for a social system to operate in a civilized manner, on a mainly consistent basis, is the placement of rules; generally unspoken laws that govern the ways in which its society functions and interacts. The majority of these rules are instilled or learned before one becomes fully responsible for his, or her, own actions. One community, though, has answered the question of what would ensue if these rules and regulations were no longer a concern.
Though not specifically unique in its existence, one local social media account has made quite the splash in the virtual world. The @FGCUConfessions page on the social media website Twitter has created a platform for students as well as nonstudents to post their thoughts, feelings, ideas and confessions online but with the safety of anonymity. Through the use of a third-party website, users of the site can compose tweets and have them posted on the page with no username displayed. As expected from an anonymous page, the administrator of FGCUConfessions has elected to keep his or her identity concealed but did have a few things to say about the page that has created such a buzz on campus.
“Me and my friends just got to thinking about what people would say anonymously if they had the chance,” the admin said in response to what the reason was for the birth of the confessions page.
They followed by stating that the page is being used precisely the way in which they believed it would, aside from the surprise they received when users began creating posts about themselves. The administrator took a noaccountability stance when asked about what some view as the virtual bullying that was taking place on their page. “Don’t shoot the messenger” was the attitude taken by the admin.
“I can’t control what people say,” the admin said. The admin proceeded to state that the student body was what fed the page its content and would therefore decide what the fate of the page would be.
Created in the fall of 2013, the admin hopes to have this platform continue throughout the years by carefully selecting a freshmen successor upon graduation. Of course, this virtual stage is in no way associated with Florida Gulf Coast University but is instead an example of society’s response to their “need” for unaccountability through the use of social media. Many FGCU students regard the page as a joke but enjoy it nonetheless and have no ill will toward the page or its users. Regardless of the users’ intentions, though, pages like this have created a world in which the standard rules of society become irrelevant and the only fact that is certain is that pages such as FGCUConfessions are here to stay.