Groningen is not the first university with a ‘confessions’ Facebook page. Oxford, Cambridge, NYU and London College are it’s illustrious predecessors. But since last Tuesday an anonymous RUG-student decided to set one up. People confess to masturbating in the toilet and having sex with a professor. UKrant texted with the admin.
So why create a RUG Confessions page?
‘I just woke up one day very bored and decided to give it a shot. The concept wasn’t really my original idea. Many major universities have it. I’ve been wondering for a while now why no one at the RUG has thought of it.’
What do you hope to achieve with it?
‘The anonymity of the confessions means that everyone can feel free to post their thoughts, however wild or socially unacceptable. I think there’s something satisfying and liberating about being able to speak your mind without being judged or ridiculed. Don’t get me wrong, people still judge what is being posted, but they judge the content of the posts, rather than specific people. I also wanted to increase the chances of romantic success between students, with their busy schedules and social anxiety preventing them from approaching their crushes in real life.’
Do you personally gain anything from it?
‘I wanted to make a page that was equal parts entertaining, helpful and informative. I like commenting on posts and addressing the audience directly, and not just passively posting all the confessions. My gain? The most honest answer would be that I just like the praise that I get for making the page. A more altruistic answer would be that I like making people smile.’
Do your friends know you’re behind this?
‘No! In the future, I might tell a select few, but only once I’m satisfied with the reach.’
How do you feel about its succes at the moment?
‘I don’t have any experience, so I don’t know what to aim for. I think 400 likes in a couple of days is not bad, but it could be way better. Me wanting to stay anonymous limits my options for promoting the page, so I’m relying on other people to do it for me.’
So, can anyone post a confession?
‘Well, the confession needs to be remotely relevant to life in Groningen; it needs to resemble a confession and be decent and respectful. Some profanity is allowed, but not in a confrontational way. Swearing at someone specifically is not okay, swearing as a linguistic tool is. Also, I usually avoid posting confessions that name people, unless they are obviously good-intentioned, like a praise or a shout out. But I won’t post rude and mean-spirited confessions. Extremely graphic posts. Or dating ads. Or personal information.’
Doesn’t it take way too much time from you study?
‘I have a really bad sense of priority. I’m spending a lot of time on the page, but I’m planning on cutting it down to a more reasonable amount once my initial excitement dies down.
Which confessions do you like best? #1, #14, #109 and #45 are definitely some of my favorites.
Want to read more confessions? Or have anything to confess? Check RUG Confessions on Facebook.