Someone makes a single post featuring 10 slides, and almost immediately, hundreds of Georgia State students are intrigued. Scrolling furiously through, some students are flattered, others disgusted and some disappointed.
“Maybe I’ll be featured on the next post,” many will think.
This captivation isn’t created through a prize or a punishment. It simply boils down to a question we’ve all pondered: does someone have a crush on me?
Sitting at over a thousand followers is the Instagram account @thers.crushes. It’s a student-run account dedicated to student crush confessions at Georgia State University.
“At first, I [saw] that there were crush accounts for other colleges like Tech and Mercer. I noticed we didn’t have one and thought it would be fun to see what would happen if I made an account for GSU,” explains the account runner.
The concept is relatively basic; you click on a link in the bio and are presented with two requests: “What’s your year?” and “Confess,” where the post gives you a blank template to write whatever you please.
All posts are anonymous, adding to the excitement of figuring out who your secret admirer can be.
Within days of the account being up, users flooded the account. This interest was all to the surprise of @thers.crushes, who was feeling the stress of organizing each confession.
“It definitely was at first – but I kind of made a system for posting in like the order that they get submitted, and it’s so much easier now,” reassures @thers.crushes.
There has been a near-constant stream of posts with this added system, ranging anywhere from 10 to 40 different confessions a day.
This unrelenting pace, @thers.crushes explains, is for the sake of a better environment here at Georgia State, “I hope they get a sense of some positivity towards themselves and others. My favorites are when people compliment other people’s personalities or energies – it’s so wholesome getting submissions like that!”
Yet, as with anything anonymous, people will look to cross lines free of consequences due to the shielded identity. This account is no stranger to these actions, admits @thers.crushes.
“There are many disturbing ones that I’ve gotten but I won’t repeat them for the sake of the readers. Let’s [say] that [some] submissions that are giving very strong Wattpad energy.”
There have been missteps, with posts that have later been deleted. However, @thers.crushes has kept all posts in good taste.
“I don’t have specific guidelines, but I try not to post things that are too sexual or anything,” she elaborates. It has never been the intention to make students uncomfortable.
Those looking to exploit the system are missing the main point of this account.
“I just try to keep it positive because the account is all about having fun and spreading compliments for people,” @thers.crushes explains.
@thers.crushes has spent a lot of time looking into others’ deep feelings, which lead to a question on whether they believe in love.
“I definitely think love is a beautiful thing – it can be [terrific] and connect everyone in a great way (if handled healthily, haha). I 100% believe in soul connections! I think they are really cool things to have with someone, and they help you learn so much about yourself and others.”
This Instagram account is committed to honesty in its purest form. It’s impressive how much effort and care @thers.crushes puts into running the account.
She wanted to create a wholesome and loving environment and did so with overall success. This account gives voice to the confessions that are at times too scary to admit in person.
