The Truth About MassArt Confessions
March 6, 2021 • Written by Oliver Trask
Living in a pandemic is awful for innumerable reasons. From the important, those we’ve lost, to the mundane, weekly tests and daily symptom reports, the issue we feel the brunt of most frequently is the need for social isolation. Everyone here at MassArt is doing their best to shrink their circles and stay safe, and while this is a necessary and vital course of action, it's also caused a casualty of a valuable resource: gossip.
Luckily, two students have taken it upon themselves to try to rectify this. The pair of anonymous moderators of the instagram account @massartconfessions asked users to “DM your anonymous confessions and lost connections,” hoping to keep the spark of rumors and hearsay alive.
Vision slid into those selfsame DMs to try to see what confessions we could procure:
Q: What inspired you to start the account?
A: “Part boredom, part missing the full campus experience with everyone”
Q: What type of confessions are you hoping for?
A: “We are just the messengers, we are here to spread tea but also love and positivity throughout our community.”
Q: We? How do you want me to refer to you?
A: “There’s two of us! We had the idea one late night and decided to make it a joint effort in order to get a second opinion on the things we post.”
Q: Thanks, and that leads me right to the next question. Is there a line that's too intense to post, outside of your posted rules?
A: “No outward hate against specific people, race, religions, sexualities, genders. If you’re spreading tea keep it anonymous. Only use names when spreading positivity, but refrain from last names cause we are a public page and wanna keep everyone safe
But we also still might withhold a post if we think it’s too much/ borderline slander. We are a new account so we are still making rules as we go!”
Q: How would you describe the value an account like this provides?
A: “At first, not a lot. But as more time passes we realize it’s become a topic of conversation for people to relate to, we are hoping it will help people feel more included in the community. And also who knows! Maybe it will be a conversation starter for those awkward zoom breakout groups!”
Q: Great, thank you both so much. Final question, do you two have anything to confess yourselves?
A: “That’s for us to know and us to post.”
In the age of the pandemic, everything is online, and nothing is quite the same because of it. And while we try to use Discord calls and discussion posts to spackle over what cracks in the college experience we can, the pair behind MassArt Confessions work hard to give us what we can’t make up for on our own. Gossip is back in our lives, and it’s easier to partake in than ever because it's delivered to us willingly and anonymously. So, if you want to get the tea while it’s still hot, be sure to visit @massartconfessions on Instagram.
