By | Saray Membrano
Jugglers may recall in recent years the creation of various NDRS based accounts such as nd.confessions and nd.ships, both primarily used for students to send anonymous messages through Instagram direct messaging. After a hiatus in the creation of these accounts, they have sprung up again and are gaining hundreds of followers. There has always been speculation in regards to the owner (or owners)Â of these profiles, but their identities continue to be unknown.
Students may find these confession accounts to be entertaining to read as they contain the latest insights on the drama at Notre Dame, but realistically, they can be very destructive. In the majority of posts, many students’ names are mentioned in negative and derogatory ways. Some teachers and the Notre Dame community (as a whole) are also targeted in the posts. The commentary threads become extremely insensitive and toxic, and it is only a matter of time before the account is deleted.
However, like a snake shedding its skin, another one quickly materializes to replace the original.
Anonymous messaging applications such as tellyonme give people the opportunity to voice their opinions without revealing their usernames. It promotes an opinionated environment of impunity, where no one has to worry about facing those they are harming; simply put, it’s a cesspool of immaturity and cowardice.
In extreme cases, these platforms can severely harm a victim’s mental health; the stories and commentary are mostly hyperbole and conjecture, but long-lasting (as they are so difficult to debunk) once posted to social media.
Some people may shrug it off, and not be overly concerned, but others take these posts to heart and are much more sensitive. Administrators and Teachers would agree that these accounts are poor representations of the school and its diverse, inclusive community.
Several attempts were made to inquire about the possibility of having these accounts removed, or somehow blocked, from the ndrs domains – however, at the time of publication, The Observer has not heard back as to whether or not that’s even an option.
Nonetheless, it’s probably in everyone’s best interest to avoid these accounts altogether. Simply put, they are just a bad idea.
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Thank you for speaking on this topic. Anonymous comments being shared through accounts like this can be hurtful towards a student’s name who was mentioned and may affect their mental health. Especially in a pandemic, mental health should be prioritized since these words can bring down one’s self-esteem and add more stress to the specific person. With so many active readers who look for entertainment, I agree it can be a struggle to stop these accounts and that we should try our best to avoid these accounts so we do not harm those around us. Instead, we should focus on more real ND news through the observer that can benefit our learning of the school. Great points were made in this article!
I have mixed emotions about this article because if I am being completely honest I find it entertaining to watch but on the other hand I can see why people would get offended.
Same with Marco, I honestly have mixed emotions about this. Some of them were alright (I remember seeing one that someone is sad) while others were just wild and plain on hurtful
I totally agree with this statement. Even though people may find this entertaining or funny, it can ruin someone self-esteem. The fact that it is on the internet and it stays there for many individuals to see, and that the assumptions or rumours written could be fake. I believe a negative opinion about someone should be kept to themselves and not spread to our Notre dame community.
I have strong emotions on this topic. We should care about others and their mental health. The pandemic doesn’t help anyone. We should not offend people because they are different.
I honestly agree that while these accounts are entertaining, they can be bad when used to harm others. Especially during the pandemic when mental health is more critical can ever. Like Angelina said, conflicts and comments should be kept and sorted with the people involved, not put out for people to see.
I agree with this article but also have mixed emotions. To be honest, I found some of the posts interesting to read but the anonymous messages can be especially harmful to the person its directed to. In my opinion posting disrespectful messages towards others for “entertainment” should not be tolerated and there are many other things to post about for entertainment. Additionally, these messages can have a very negative affect on anothers mental health and should not be posted on an account for others to see.
This is a significant point that I wish could be mentioned more. I understand that for some, these accounts may be a place where they can share their thoughts/feelings and may allow them to feel heard or included. However, people may not understand the hazardous effects that could come with it. Putting individuals out there isn’t beneficial in any way, and can really harm others. The issue with anonymity is that it may encourage cyberbullying and harassment, as you feel more secure knowing you stay unknown, causing you to do things you wouldn’t in person. We should always keep in mind that not everyone may react the same to conflict and to think before we act. I agree that for some it’s safest to watch out for these accounts or others like it. Hopefully, we can come up with better alternatives where entertainment and reassuring students’ safety are both priorities!
I agree. The pandemic is not helping with anything and we should be more respectful of others mental health.
I think this is a very good topic to look at because some people do not like this idea of exposing students because it can get really personal and hurt people. Especially with the pandemic and all the craziness happening in the world I feel like we should all just try to get along and spread positivity.