Student Confessions On Kean Missed Connections

By Harmony Sanchez | Published March 24, 2022

If you could make an anonymous confession about anyone at Kean, what would you say?

The new Kean Missed Connections Instagram account is bridging that gap for many, by allowing users to fill out a google form and share their anonymous thoughts, feelings, confessions or connections with everyone else.

Created at the start of the Spring 2022 semester, @KeanMissedConnections on Instagram now has over 800 followers and receives over 100 likes with each new daily post.

“This page is for the people who missed their chance to reach out to someone, it gives them a second chance to connect with that person, whether it be a compliment, admitting your crush, or just making a new friend,” the anonymous creator of the page explained. “The page is meant to stimulate community.”

The creator saw an opportunity to create a missed connections page for Kean when they noticed other universities had similar confessional accounts online.

“I think it’s a fun way for students to anonymously interact with each other and be honest while keeping their identity safe,”  Kean Senior Nallely Martinez said.

“I do find it entertaining, other perspectives on Kean’s student life are always interesting to indulge in,” Kean Senior Dariana Rodriguez said “I browse when I see the page come up on my timeline. If the messages are sweet I’ll like the post.”

Currently, many students at Kean browse the Instagram page in search of a missed connection that may be about them, or someone else they know.

“The submissions are sent to a google form in my bio. I don’t collect any information other than the message itself, so even I, the owner of the page, don’t know who sends what,” the creator said. “It’s completely anonymous, unless they decide to write their names in the submission or in the comment section.”

While some users utilize the google submission form to ask a simple question about the university or talk about an experience they had on campus, many end up shouting someone out they noticed at Kean.

“I don’t follow their page. The main reason I found out about it was because a student talked about me on it and of course I didn’t take it to heart,” Martinez said. “I just thought that they were shy; they were at least getting the thought out of their system, but the anonymous individual said very nice things about me.”

Martinez is one of many who have been publicly mentioned on the page, but the creator ensures anyone who is uncomfortable can always request the post be taken down.

“I want to make sure that positivity is spread and that anyone is able to enjoy this page and feel safe! I am very approachable and flexible so whatever problems anyone has they can always come to me,” said the creator.

According to the creator, they now receive an average of 300-400 confessions per week, or 50-100 per day from the google form linked on their Instagram page bio.

“I am actually very shocked by how fast this page has grown! I knew it would grow at some point and literally prayed for it to go viral in the school,” said the creator.

In just under a month, the page managed to grow significantly more than initially expected. The creator mentioned that they are not sure if they would continue Kean Missed Connections into the future, or if they would turn it over to a more capable person to continue running.

“If it stays this popular throughout all my college years, I’m not sure whether I would shut it down or hand it over to a capable, and responsible student. Running a page like this is a lot of work making sure that everyone is respected and that the anonymous open platform is not being abused” the creator explained.

The creator of Kean Missed Connections has their direct messages open for any concerns viewers may have about a post.

“I enjoyed it because students tend to be very silly and quirky, however I can see how things can get out of line and some students may say very hurtful things,”  Martinez said.

“I think that it makes us realize how much people really are paying attention and that can be good or bad for some people. As long as it’s not spreading wrongful messages or being mean to the students mentioned I think it’s fine,”  Rodriguez said.

Currently, the Kean Missed Connections page still remains active and anyone looking can still submit an anonymous confession by using the link in their bio.

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