@ehs_etc has requested to follow you… If you’ve received this notification, you are not alone. Students making Essex High School related accounts is not a new occurrence, but recently, there has been an explosion in new accounts. These profiles have a variety of topics ranging from gossip or ‘tea’ accounts, ‘ship’ accounts, bad parking accounts and even a profile by the username @yassifying_ehs that takes photos of students and ‘yasifies’ them. Some of these accounts are harmless, all in good fun, while others post content that spreads rumors or posts harmful or private information about students. 

This phenomenon isn’t just a local occurrence; high schools all over the country have had a large uptick in the amount of student-run accounts. Look up any high school in the country on Instagram and you’ll see a plethora of student run, school related accounts. The typical follow requests page of a given student looks like picture after picture of the school mascot with some sort of unique theme.

Although the existence of these accounts is mostly harmless, there are some negative sides. For example, @ehs_fightvids posts videos of fights that happen on school grounds. This account posts videos that have been submitted anonymously to the account. These accounts could potentially be encouraging violent behavior. Could students begin to stage fights or provoke others to try to get a fight to happen? These are the questions that need to be asked when evaluating the potential danger of accounts like these existing. 

While some accounts are fun and light hearted, like @ehs_sillyvideos, and  @ehs.random.photos, others have the potential to be dangerous. It becomes an issue when students are submitting confessions to the gossip pages specifically, where it puts other students or teachers at risk. Some information has been posted to these accounts that share personal information about other students and teachers that they might not want to be publicly shared. Also, the issue of students making what are clearly jokes about teachers on these accounts has the unfortunate possibility of causing legal issues if discovered by other teachers or administrators. Regardless of if they are true, teachers are required to report certain things that they hear and see, despite if what they heard was ‘just a joke’ if it is pertaining to another teacher or student.   

Another problem is revealed when dealing with the gossip, tea, and confessions pages: their existence and the content that they post magnifies rumors and their spread. What might have started as a small and insignificant whisper can become a school-wide rumor. The potential for this to happen can cause harm to students and spread information that may have been private and could ostracize a student. 

Although these accounts have negatives, others have the positive effect of helping students and bringing them together, especially in this difficult Covid era. Some students have brought up the fact these accounts are pointing out real issues that exist at our school. They draw attention to the everyday obstacles that students face. However, these accounts can often go too far. For example, or @ehs_sleeping_cam takes pictures of students who are presumed to be sleeping at school. The issue arises that these students were photographed without their consent. 

It is completely reasonable for students to have fun and be creative in the new landscape of social media, but decency is required when deciding whether or not to create a new account. In order to create a school community that is respectful and inclusive to all students, the students need to put in the work to build a foundation. This includes being respectful not just within the walls of the school, but on social media too.