Most of us would agree that we "behave" very differently online than we would in real life. It's easier to type an email than to make a phone call. It's easier to "scream" (IN CAPS LIKE THIS) and throw insults on a blog than in a conference room. In that sense, this anonymity makes us more honest because we do not fear the immediate consequences. And it's led to us being more candid about what lurks deep inside us than ever.
It's no surprise you'll find just about every kind of site catering to every type of person out there in the realm of cyberspace. You'll find every social interest, every kind of product, every fetish of porn, every niche of support group. And hence, you'll find every type of human being mired by every type of mental psychosis known to man. Confession sites, where people post anonymous entries outlining their deepest darkest bouts of shame and sin, make for fascinating reading (although somewhat humorously depressing, depending on how you look at it).
Although some confession sites are meant more as support groups, designed to promote a certain level and atmosphere of interaction between its members, the most intriguing ones play on the fact that the confessions are supposed to be anonymous. That is, it's extremely one-sided and blunt in its presentation, and its content is in the realm of the "extreme". Everything from sex affairs, fetishes, people stealing candy from children, self-hatred and loathing, girls with body issues, born again christian prostitutes, plastic surgery gone wrong, drug addicts, and on and on and on. Some of them are quite commonplace things we can relate to, such as dating someone behind your friend's back, stealing from work, laughing at someone or something and feeling guilty about it afterwards, one-night stands and so forth. But some are so completely off the wall that it begs the question, "What does this person look like in real life?" They would look quite ordinary, in fact, which makes their confessions all the more disturbing. True, there is an undeniably serious element to people's deep-seated problems, but their exhibition into cyberspace pushes it to the borderline of shameful humor and joy, schadenfreude.
Although its impossible to ever tell if these stories are true (though why would they lie if it's completely anonymous to begin with), they are nevertheless a great source of entertainment when you want to reassure yourself that there is always someone worse off than yourself.
LessProud.com is an archive of cyberspace confessions of sloth, greed, envy, pride, lust, gluttony, anger and anything else. Browse anonymously and post anonymously (no account sign up). Sometimes the best way to boost your morale is to read the confessions of the truly wretched amongst us.
http://www.lessproud.com/
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