Are we sharing too much online?

    In a world driven by technology, social media is hard to avoid. In fact, Branfon.com reports that over twenty percent of the world is active on a social media platform of some sort. With everybody being connected, and seeing into the lives of others the question becomes, how much is too much?

    Recently, a new Twitter handle has gained popularity, especially amongst college students all across the country. The page is called “collegefessions” and it encourages college students to post secrets about their college lives. Many of these “confessions” are sexual in nature, and some students even send revealing photos of themselves to the page for others to view publicly.

    “Collegefession was an idea that came to me and I just decided to create a Twitter account for it to see where it went. I guess you could say it really took off,” said founder Daniel Carnett.

    Since the site opened up in the beginning of January, it has gained over 217,000 followers. So the question becomes, why do students open up to the site, and post explicit information?

            One of the reasons could be students posting anonymously, and readers do not know who is submitting the confessions. However, there could also be a humor factor to the submissions.

    “I could read these college confessions all day,” said one reader on Twitter.

   “These college confessions are so…funny,” said another

    While these confessions and pictures might be getting laughs now, they might not in the future. According to CBS News, many employers will search for potential employees on social media, and even though the posts are “anonymous”, they can still be traced back to the poster. Not only do students post the name of their college, but they also can be traced through Twitter searches.  

    Additionally, the Twitter page and website link together, which means the photos and confessions are in multiple places. Each submission to the website and Twitter handle helps the creators make money.

     “We're currently working on an official merchandise line for Collegefession, and are looking into possible sponsored events… we do make money off the site,” Carnett said.

    While posting confessions and revealing photos may seem like an innocent game, the effects may be felt for years. Additionally, having not-so-pleasant photos on a public site leads to an increased risk of “catfishing”, or somebody using your photos, and claiming to be you online.