Olivia Elsey

Love them or loathe them, the student confession pages on Facebook, QUB Love and UU Love, have fast become an integral part of students’ lives, am I right?

From declarations of undying love for the hottie with the blue hair, the absolute cringe stories of nights out (who even remembers going to pres anymore?); to the heartfelt and worrying discussions surrounding poor mental health and relationships amongst students, the confession pages have seen it all.

But what do students truly think about these pages?

After chatting with several students, and possibly even a few cheeky admins of these pages, the consensus is these pages are a brilliant way of meeting like-minded students and forging friendships online, and they are here to stay.

Due to the anonymous nature of the pages, some widespread negative views were divulged, too. Probably the most common was the fact that submissions are anonymous, to which one student coined the phrase “anonymity breeds the devil”- providing a free reign for keyboard warriors to attack.

“I have actually made so many friends from it”, one student told me.

During this past year of restrictions and lockdowns, it’s safe to say that many of us have felt a lot lonelier. Not being able to meet up with friends for a coffee and a catch-up, or going for food at the weekend to avoid completing the dreaded essay has hit us hard. Procrastinating, and then cramming the work into one energy drink fuelled all-nighter is how many of us students roll. To have that taken away from us has knocked us for six. So, using these confession pages as a way to connect with other students has certainly become an integral part of this academic year’s student experience.

Most of us are frustrated, fed up and frightened of what our university story has become. It doesn’t really feel like the best years of our life, but as one student remarked, confessional pages are “also a good insight to what people at uni are thinking”. Reading through various comments on multiple posts across the two student confession pages, it is obvious that most of us have very similar experiences - similarities we may not have seen had we been in a “normal” learning environment.

It sounds almost too corny to admit, but have the confession pages become a bond between us all - Queen’s and Ulster alike?

The students’ submissions make the pages interesting, but we can’t forget about the teams behind the scenes who approve/reject the stories that makes us laugh and cry.

Okay, so some admins do find themselves in the middle of Facebook spats, more often than perhaps they would like, but we need to acknowledge that their watchful eyes do so on a voluntary basis. They are students too, with responsibilities, stress and worries of their own. Plus, they are all human, just like the rest of us, who make mistakes. If you would not say it to them publicly, or message them privately to air a grievance, then why would you think that it is acceptable to attack them anonymously?

During a chat with an admin of one of the pages, they divulged that around one fifth of submissions do not get accepted. So, if your submission didn’t appear of the page the fourth time you submitted, just give up. The admins have the power to accept, not the steam coming off your keyboard and fingers.

With the state of the Covid situation we need to hold on to any little thing that is positive and healthy for the student experience, so engaging with these confession pages has truly been a great tool to connect with students who can somewhat empathise with our own experience.

“I enjoy reading others’ problems and try to help if I can…if there’s one thing Covid has taught us, it’s to be kinder to people”, one student, Eimear, told me.

Another student says that “I’ve had people add me from the comment section even though we haven’t met in real life”.

Chatting with some students regarding the confession pages showed just how valuable they have found the pages during this past year, and the positivity and support that comes from the submissions and comments is the way forward.

Keep on submitting and commenting because you truly can help a fellow peer. Just remember to think before you post.

All individuals have been anonymised

Olivia Elsey is a Final Year History and English Student.

FEATURE - Student Confession Pages: A Help or a Hindrance?