XOXO, Gossip Girl

A few OHS students reflect on the uprising of gossip Instagram accounts

With the rising amount of gossip Instagram accounts surrounding OHS and its students, some individuals are expressing their concern with the accusations on the pages.

“It’s just a new thing every month,” Nejla Nadarevic (11) said. “Last year we had Yik Yak and this is a different version of Yik Yak.”

The account in question is a private Instagram that gained over 200 followers in just a couple of days.

“The old one got taken down, but there’s a new one up now,” Janelle Rayford (11) said.

This account got popular for allowing the student body to send in confessions about others anonymously.

“People just ran with it,” Nadarevic said. “There were some pretty serious videos and accusations.”

Anything from fight videos to illegal activities, the account was not holding back.

“There were a lot of very real things said there,” Nadarevic said. “There were a lot of people saying slurs. It always starts off kinda harmless and then it gets crazy.”

The submissions to the account even took it as far as making vulgar and lewd comments about other students at school.

“Personally, I had something suggestive said about me,” Emma Sullens (11) said. “It made me a little uncomfortable because I didn’t know who could have said it about me. It could have been anyone since it’s anonymous.”

The anonymous aspect of the account, while intriguing to some, is unsettling to others.

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea for people to make anonymous accounts like that,” Rayford said. “It’s childish.”

Despite the immature posts and their captions, those who viewed the account found some of the posts to be amusing.

“I’m not gonna put on a facade and act like I’m some saint who thought it was all horrible,” Nadarevic said. “Some of them were bad, but some of them were hilarious and that’s just the truth.”

Some students feel that the account’s original purpose could have been to build community, but instead tore it down.

“The anonymous account reminded me of the show ‘Gossip Girl,’” Sullens said. “I think it’s a fun idea, but it was abused. It did more harm than good, and I feel like we all could have benefited from not talking crap about each other.”

Many students recognized the account to be promoting bullying, some stating that those sending in submissions are old enough to know better.

“This is just high school,” Nadarevic said. “Take a breather.”