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There's a Twitter account (that can now also be found on Facebook) which offers people the chance to anonymously reveal their secrets, and with 535K followers, it has become a viral online sensation.

Titled Fesshole, the account is the brainchild of Rob Manuel. Those of you that are well-versed in internet culture might know him from creating 'B3ta', a meme design website that famously sued Coca-Cola after they ripped off one of its viral animations for a TV ad.

Anyway, the "sins" on Fesshole range from the clumsily awkward (messing up a handshake) to the hilariously outrageous (hiring someone because they share your love for pro-wrestling), and, I guess, their popularity shows that in the age of social detachment, a little gossip can go a long way.

Continue scrolling to check out Fesshole's latest content, and don't miss out on the chat we had about secrets with Dr. Michael Slepian, the Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Associate Professor of Leadership and Ethics at Columbia Business School, spread out in between the pictures.

However, if you go through the entire thing and your curiosity wants more, fire up our earlier publication on Fesshole.

More info: Twitter | Facebook

#1

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Trisha Howson
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I see nothing wrong with this at all. They wouldn't take care of her give her to someone that can and will

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To begin with, Dr. Slepian said when we keep a secret, we often mean to protect something. "Perhaps we believe that it protects our reputation, or our relationship with someone. And yet, our secrets tend to harm our well-being, and can harm our relationships too," the author of The Secret Life of Secrets: How Our Inner Worlds Shape Well-Being, Relationships, and Who We Are told Bored Panda.

"When we choose to be alone with something, especially something important, we tend not to develop the healthiest way of thinking about it. It often takes another person to get the help that we need. Even a short conversation with a trusted person can offer so much. Emotional support and fresh perspectives can easily be offered by your confidant, but are hard to find on your own. This is why we often want to bring others in. We know that another person can prove helpful, and that having a conversation about the secret would be a healthy thing to do. To have a secret from everyone is to be alone with that thing, and we don't like to be alone. Your desire for help and social connection is in battle with your fear of how others will respond. When we let fear win, we hold the secret tight."

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April Caron
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had a 6 year old foster kid who was obsessed with wanting glasses like her older sister. Alas, she didn’t need them. :/ While her older sister walked around trying on various frames for her new glasses, she was trying to be supportive. I couldn’t bare to see her disappointed, so I told her to pick out whatever frames she also wanted. She was over-the-moon elated! We bought her “glasses” as-is without a prescription… just a clear lens. They were a hideous pink cat eye style. She wore them EVERYWHERE! And anytime she would get complimented on them, she’d tally up those compliments, “See? Another compliment!” It was ridiculously cute! :)

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James Morris
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I always want to ask Alexa to end the simulation {like the Matrix} but don't. I'm afraid if it does life might be worst then it is.

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With Edy Moulton-Tetlock, a doctoral student in management studying organizational behavior, Dr. Slepian asked more than 800 online participants to describe their personal secrets, using his list of 38 common categories of secrets as their guide.

The participants described more than 10,000 secrets, including both those they had shared with someone ("confided secrets") and the ones they had kept all to themselves ("total secrets").

The data revealed that confiding a secret predicted improved well-being. That's because the participant received social support and because the act of revealing the secret seemed to minimize the amount of time the person spent thinking about it.

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Lakota Wolf
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I do this sometimes as well at work - I'm white af but I'm adopted - I was adopted at birth into a Hispanic family so I've literally grown up speaking Spanish (and English) fluently. I love giving new co-workers a shock if they sit in the break room gossiping in Spanish while I'm in there XD I always reassure my co-workers I'm not going to snitch on them... but inadvertently knowing all the employee gossip and employee frenemy relationships sure sucks sometimes :(

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Carol Emory
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Friend of mine was in Japan on a student exchange and on the train complaining in English about what a horrible time she was having. A man in a suit turned to her as he exited and said, in English, "Japan is not that bad." She was embarrassed that he heard every word. Fast forward 5 years later and she is in America on a bus. Two Japanese ladies are behind her complaining in Japanese about how horribly dirty and rude Americans are. She turned to them and, in Japanese, said "C'mon. We're not ALL bad." She said they were mortified and apologetic.

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That nerd Zoe ️‍🇺🇦️‍
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My mom said this at a Mexican restaurant but she actually knows some Spanish. Lmao the waiters were talking about her (making jokes I think)

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Lakota Wolf
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I do this too - I'm adopted, I'm super white but I was adopted into a Mexican family at birth, so I speak Spanish fluently, which NO ONE ever suspects. I've had a few employees trash-talk my clothing choices (cute kitten or anime shirts and men's cargo shorts) at fast-food restaurants and I always look them right in the eye and say, in flawless Spanish, "Sorry, next time I'll wear something fancier for you!"

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Jaguarundi
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I did the same to a very rude, Caribbean cab driver here in the 'states. She was talking trash about these "stupid old white people" to her dispatcher in Creole. When we arrived and were safely out. I paid our fare, smiled in her face and said "Bon soir salope!" No tip for her and we called her parent company to report her and her dispatcher buddy. Watching her jaw drop was FUN!

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deanna woods
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hate that you to put up with racism from a black person. As far as I see it, we are all the same just different wrapping.

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Michael Largey
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"You wanna brush up on your Greek, Jamison. Well, get a Greek and brush up on him." - Groucho Marx (Animal Crackers)

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Marco Conti
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I speak a few languages, some better than others, but I enjoy doing this too.

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Ali H M Salehuddin
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If they are your colleagues, soon enough they'll know that you don't actually speak the language.

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Dr. Slepian's research suggests that someone who is more secretive tends to be less extraverted and less emotionally stable, but more conscientious.

However, we also need to be aware of what it means to be "unloaded" on.

"When another person confides in us, this can be a boon but also a burden. When someone trusts us to the point of revealing a secret, we understand this is an act of intimacy, and often feel closer to the person as a result."

And yet, Dr. Slepian explained that if the secret is something we find troubling or surprising, we might find our thoughts returning to it again and again.

"The secret can weigh on our mind. And if the secret implicates someone you know, then you'll have to keep the secret from them, which will bring its own burden," he added.

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While Dr. Slepian thinks it's possible for people to live like an open book, sharing everything with the world, he wouldn't advise it.

"There is a class of secrets that most everyone agrees is okay to keep. People often call these 'white lies,'" he clarified. "If you are just arriving at the party, and your friend asks you how their outfit looks, but it is too late to change, then most people agree that saying something positive is the kinder response ('You look great!'). If the truth needlessly hurts someone's feelings, holding back is often the more compassionate choice."

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DuchessDegu
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't like the taste of beer, wine or spirits, I'm more than happy with a soft drink or juice. I've done it to stop people asking "but whyyyyyyy?" I don't drink and "just try this one".

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Aroha
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Cute idea, I'll do the same! *remembers that she has never been asked out* Oh... 😐

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Paul C.
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The company I worked for supplied free vend coffee machines. I put fake price stickers on the machines. It went ballistic. HR had to put out an Email assuring everyone it was somebodies idea of a joke. I think I got away with it.

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There's no exact formula that tells Rob Manuel which submissions he needs to feature on Fesshole. His choices are based on simply going through the list and reading them. Everything depends on his judgment of what he thinks is funny or interesting. So if you send Rob something and it doesn't appear on the account, don't sweat it. There are other online "priests" you can share your secrets with. Like the subreddit r/confessions.

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April Caron
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is why I have a Furbo camera… so I can talk to my animals. My cat is too smart! When he wants my attention… he triggers the camera, so I’ll check on him and have a little chat with him. :)

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Paul C.
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My brother-in-law, who is a right know it all, fitted his fridge freezer into his kitchen work tops. For years my sister-in-law complained nothing was ever cold and the freezer took an eternity to do basic freezing......he'd left the Styrofoam encasing the whole of the back.

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Trisha Howson
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well you told him. It on him should of listened sometimes that is what it takes and you can have a laugh about it

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Elizabeth Elliot
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Shame on you! Think of all the jobs you're stealing from people with REAL interpretive dance degrees! :)

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Paul C.
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Good thinking, can't have somebody with a different opinion than yourself can you? Sarcasm alert.

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