The pandemic limited our ability to gather with one another and socialize with our friends, but students nationwide have come up with new ways to humorously recognize their peers and classmates.
Instagram pages displaying students’ poor parking jobs, nap sessions, bad posture, shoes, memes, and more have become a popular and rather interesting source of entertainment. Seemingly out of nowhere, these random, student-run accounts emerged throughout the country, from neighboring schools in Rockland County to high schools in Illinois and California. Students submit images of themselves and their friends to the accounts though Instagram’s direct message. Students are aware of pictures of themselves that are publicly posted while the accounts have consent from featured students and their friends.
Clarkstown North High School student, Ellie Taragano, says, “Honestly, I think the Instagram accounts are hilarious. [They] create a sense of community in our student body outside of school. It’s become a fun, harmless trend in which students either try to get featured or try their best to avoid getting featured, which, in a sense, is a good thing. It practically promotes staying awake or keeping a good posture while in school.”
While it seems that this trend could be unfavorable, students have found immense hilarity in the Instagram pages and the creators’ motives are clear. They’ve created silly ways for students to bond while distracting them from tense political and COVID-19 related issues, as well as stress that comes from a busy school day. So the next time you think about resting your eyes or performing an inconsiderably poor parking job, think back to those Instagram pages and your chances of getting featured.