On January 15, 2013 a Facebook page was created that has growing quickly in popularity and not even a year later, has over 12,000 likes and receives hundreds of confessions per day. With over 1200 posts to make us laugh, cry, cringe and/or shock us, UBC Confessions starts the day right while you chow down on your morning cereal or struggle to stay awake on your morning commute. Uniting people campus wide through their most embarassing, hilarious and disgusting yet true stories, this page helps bring our large university community together in an unorthodox manner by telling all our deepest, darkest secrets to the internet for everyone to read.
So, who is this mystery person? It’s a mystery. Duh! Of course I can’t ask them to expose their true identity, as that would ruin UBCC. However, I was able to contact the wizard behind the curtain and ask them to anonymously answer some questions to shed some light on what it’s like to be an underground celebrity. Here’s what they had to say:
Do you have a favourite post/poster? Are they the ones you comment on?
I receive around 100/200 submissions a day and with a 10 a day post limit, it is really difficult to read through every single one and choose the best. As a result, I often do not even have time to notice the name of the OP (Original Poster), so I wouldn’t be able to tell you if I have a favourite poster. The earthquake masturbator has really made things interesting this semester, but I am in a bit of a love/hate relationship about receiving his posts because they always blow my mind.
Do you read through the comments? What do you think about them?
The comments are usually funnier than the actual posts! I read through all the comments throughout the day for the funnies and for interesting debate. Sometimes I will post posts that I know will get discussion going about a certain topic, which I think is really important. Being able to understand and hear other peoples’ views is an important skill to learn in university.
Does anyone know you’re the creator?
Some of my super close friends who have caught me signed in to the account, but they have also submitted some embarrassing stuff before knowing it was me, so they know that if they tell I can get back at them!
Have there ever been any confessions you have refused to post?
Happens to me DAILY!! UBCC has recently started working closely with the UBC Mental Health Network and I have learned so much about being careful about what I post. I have a responsibility to know what is appropriate to normalize around campus. I tend not to post posts dealing with inabilities to cope with depression/cutting/eating disorders. I wouldn’t want to post something that gets a group of other people to encourage themselves to continue cutting/having an eating disorder. If I do post about those topics, it’s usually about how people have overcome those obstacles and how anybody can do it.
Do you ever post your own confessions?
I used to! When the page first started a lot of the confessions were mine, but nowadays people submit things that are 10000000 times funnier than anything I could think of.
How many messages do you get on average per day?
150?
Did you think UBC Confessions would be this popular when you started?
NO WAY! I honestly never thought I would be looking at 12,000 likes not even a year later. I’m really happy that it did get big though, because it adds to a sense of community around this massive campus. We are all a lot more similar than we think! I like to believe it brings the community together a bit more.
You posted a disclaimer earlier this month that from now on you’ll be reporting self-harm confessions to the proper resources on campus to get them help. What prompted that?
YES! Ugh that was a difficult time. In general, as UBCC started gaining more followers I started receiving posts that were dealing with some very serious issues about self harm and suicide. I encouraged those people to seek help, but I also felt as though that is not enough. I released the disclaimer so that legally I could release the information of the names and accounts of those people to the UBC Mental Health Network so that a professional could reach out to them immediately and decide on an appropriate action.
How did self-harm confession posts make you feel?
Helpless! I wanted so desperately to help them, but my code of anonymity and secrecy of posts kept me from being able to help as much as I thought I should. I wanted to be fair to both sides of the issue, so I released the disclaimer to show that sometimes complete anonymity can be harmful.
What are the best and worst things about running the page?
Waking up early every morning to post is NOT THAT FUN. Best? Reading 100 funny submissions every morning really puts my day to a good start.
Anything else you want to say?
THANK YOU!