Wheaton Confessions, Wheat Confess and Wheaton Crushes – what will be next? Why do we need to have groups on Facebook that define who we are? Is Facebook really an appropriate place to do this? Especially in today’s society, people are hiding more and more behind their technology. What does anyone have to gain from putting something personal on a public page for everyone to see? Telling social media who you have a crush on or how you feel about an issue, to put it gently, is quite childish.
I understand that whoever created the page intended it to be some inter-collegiate fun, but it has quickly turned into a catfight.
Besides trying to express private emotions via a public site, sometimes the comments are not so nice. The page has been reported several times and feelings have been hurt. Some are also posting things that others really do not want to hear. If you have an issue with someone, work it out, don’t make it public. Groups like these always cause more harm then good and reflect the Wheaton students in a poor way.
It also does not help that some people try to take it seriously while others see it as a joke. If you are trying to create a movement, Facebook is not the place to do it. “Under the best of conditions, it was a cute idea. Unfortunately, it quickly became a space where some people chose to hurt and belittle each other under the veil of anonymity. I wish I could say that I’m surprised, but given the opportunity, some people don’t have the strength to resist hurting each other if there are minimal consequences involved,” said Caitlin Hawkins ’14. As a result of not being able to trace who is saying what, some are using this page to say things that they generally would not be saying to someone’s face.
Personally, I do not want to be Facebook “friends” with the page, but I find myself checking it a few times a day just to make sure that no one has said anything insulting about me.
I believe in free speech but to a certain extent. If students were mature enough to use this space to share things they were actually concerned about and did not use it as a place to play games or hurt others, maybe it could be a good thing, but it’s not and it is causing unnecessary drama.
College is hard enough; we don’t need social media making us feel bad for no reason. As Bailey McWilliams ’14 said, “I don’t think it’s worth it. I have friends who get upset about things and comment on a lot of the posts, but it causes unnecessary drama and controversy.” College is difficult enough; we don’t need to create more ways to tear each other down.