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Black Holes and Revelations
confessions were pranks rather than actual missives from the besotted and lovesick , we ’ ll go out on a limb and say that most of them were in jest . A choice morsel for your delectation :
Hands off KJY please . I ’ ll be bearing his children , not you .
Rafflesian Times
36
A common complaint shared by quite a number of confessions is that Raffles breeds a toxic , elitist attitude .
1
A Latin expression meaning ‘ the voice of the people is the voice of God ’
It is the new form of confession : the anonymity of the confessional booth replaced by that of the Internet , and fellow Facebook users collectively donning the robe of the priest . As they say , vox populi , vox dei1 .
We refer , of course , to the rise of Facebook confessions pages — originally conceived by varsity students in the US as a place where the normally unsayable could be broadcast to the world ( or at least some fraction of it ) under the guise of anonymity . The trend spread , and in February this year some enterprising Rafflesians took it upon themselves to set up the RJ Confessions page on Facebook .
At its inception , RJ Confessions was dominated by two kinds of confessions : the ardent declaration of love , and its ne ’ er do well cousin , the ardent declaration of love on behalf of a friend . While it is unknown exactly what proportion of the early
It seemed at the time that RJ Confessions ( and sister pages like Raffles Confessions , a combined forum for both the Year 1 – 4 cohort and their future schoolmates from RGS ) would simply be the latest in teenage infatuation and inanity on social media — hardly worthy of an entire article on the trend . Yet , standing as testament to the fluid nature of social media , RJ Confessions has become a place for people to share light-hearted moments from their lives , offer valuable advice to juniors , polemicize on controversial issues , vent their frustrations , give voice to their misery , or , as many do , profess their affection .
From a sociological point of view , the Confessions page offers insight into current topics of interest among Rafflesians . It is perhaps analogous to someone who dedicates their time to moving about the corridors of the school listening in on conversations and broadcasting choice morsels to everyone else . Interesting issues have surfaced as a result ; we examine some in greater detail below .