The Confessional Self

Does anonymously generated content illuminate aspects of the self that would remain dark in other circumstances?

2 thoughts on “The Confessional Self

  1. Brian Sommers emailed me this

    “I was reading a comment board on ESPN and someone posted the following:
    ‘Is it me, or are the comment boards full of whiners who rant and rave b/c they have anonymity and just want to vent their inner frustration about life in general?’
    I thought it was relevant.”

    Is it possible that the secrets and comments on M.C. says something not only about the individuals who posted them but also tells a narrative about the broad swath of campus represented in the aggregate of those posts and comments. Specifically, could the confessional be characterized as function of our collective frustration with campus life?

  2. I think the Confessional ironically reflects an underlying sentiment of isolation at Middlebury. This may seem strange, considering we are only a campus of 2400 people, but perhaps recognizing everyone without truly knowing them contributes to this isolation. I think anonymous online communication is a poor substitute for the real thing. The allure of this type of synthetic communication stems from the fact that there are so many people “out there” and that you run very few real risks interacting with them. It is high reward and low risk socializing, in a sense.

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