Are the Doherty Accounts as Innocent as They Started?

We’ve all heard about the nationwide trend about school themed instagram accounts. Well, these pages have finally reached Doherty, and they spread like wildfire. Accounts like DohertyTallGiants and DohertyCouples were the first to gain popularity, but the accounts that followed aren’t as innocent as they started out to be. These new accounts are spreading rumors and ruining people’s reputations as an attempt to gain followers. Accounts started as a fun way to spread school spirit and had people sending themselves in, but have since turned into mean accounts where people are being posted, and falsely accused of serious accusations.

False Rumors

One account in specific is DohertyDepressed, and I was able to get some input from someone that was posted. I interviewed Doherty sophomore, Gabriel Pacheco, and he gave me an idea on what it’s like to be posted. When I asked him how these accounts could change how people are viewed, he said, “It’s kind of dumb. It can ruin people’s lives depending on what account they get posted on. It’s scary for some people.”

Mental Health

Although some of the accounts are positive, the majority are extremely toxic. The combination of public embarrassment and false rumors can be very draining on someone’s mental well being. I asked an anonymous Doherty student how being posted affected them and they had this to say, “It originally gave me anxiety, and I didn’t even want to show my face. But I got over it and began wondering who made the account.” This has caused many students to not want to attend school in fear of being posted.

The Main Issue

Besides the rumors and stress that follow these accounts, the main issue is the drama. Accounts such as dohertyexposed and dohertycheaters have caused a lot of issues. People are losing friends, breaking up, etc. Fights have even started due to rumors, and people are being treated differently just because they were posted. Another anonymous student said, “These accounts can ruin relationships, friendships, and cause fights depending on the account. Its really unfortunate that the people behind these accounts can spread rumors like this as a ‘joke’ or for their own entertainment.”

What to do after being posted?

The first thing to do after being posted on one of these negative pages is to Direct Message the account owner about having the post deleted. The next step would be to report the account. The more accounts we can get deleted, the smaller the issue becomes. If you ever get posted, remember to stay calm. Its scary to have dirt on your name, but many accounts lost popularity a few weeks after being posted. Another anonymous student had this to say for people having a hard time with being posted, “Don’t think too much about it, people will have their opinions on you. As long as you’re happy with yourself, other people’s opinions don’t matter as much.

The accounts are toxic, but the more we ignore and report them the quicker they’ll stop being made. Almost nothing on the internet is 100% true, a lot of it is an attempt to gain popularity. So before you judge someone that was posted, take into account that it might just be a rumor. Everyone at this school is a Spartan, so treat them like one.