Student-Led Instagram Accounts Engage Community

By  ARYAN AGARWAL, MARYN BOWMAN, ESTHER CHAE, JILLIAN CHENG, and ERIN HAN

Courtesy of @prawsleftpinkyon Instagram

If an Exonian were to open their phone today, they would be greeted by an onslaught of notifications from sources like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. In a world where children are spending an increasing amount of time online, Exonians use social media as their main mode of communication and socialization outside of real life. With posts and messages, friends can have quality time, even when they aren’t sitting right next to each other. These individual interactions aren’t the sole purpose of these apps though. Recently, it has become clear how the larger student body of Phillips Exeter Academy has found its way online. Certain students have taken the initiative to aid the community experience of Exonians in a clever and engaging way, and it is making a difference. 

Courtesy of @goodmorningexeter on Instagram

With the presence of numerous student-run Instagram accounts slowly growing throughout the years, their impacts permeate into everyday Exonian life. From exeter_compliments to goodmorningexeter, students can be found discussing these accounts’ posts and memes even in real life. Whether it’s a way to see the anonymous thoughts of our students, to inject a burst of energy into your mornings, or just to get a quick chuckle, there is no question about the ways that these accounts are adding to our Exeter experience. The Exonian went further to ask the creators of these accounts what prompted them to start posting.

@goodmorningexeter, an Instagram account run by upper Shay Kashif, creates short-format Instagram Reels in a concise and energetic format which have recently skyrocketed in popularity. 

Kashif said that his inspiration was “a mix of myself thinking that Exeter could do with a little bit more morning energy, and that we needed someone to bring that morning positivity. I saw someone from UCLA that did something similar, so that was kind of the direct inspiration for me.” 

One of the largest student-run Instagram accounts on campus, @exeter_compliments, allows students to anonymously write short “compliments” which are then posted on the account. They said, “The current team inherited this account from previous admins, Isabella Veseley ‘24 and Delaney Schlege ‘24. They had a mission to spread positivity around campus using Instagram.”

Courtesy of @exiepolls on Instagram

The anonymous administrators shared that their goal is to forward Veseley and Miller’s legacy: “We post to continue their mission—to bring a little bit of happiness into Exonians’ lives when they scroll through Instagram.” 

They added, “We certainly think we’re achieving this goal. We often hear Exonians talking about our posts, mostly in exciting ways, and if not, at least we got a reaction out of an otherwise boring day.”

Commenting on their anonymity, the admins shared that they made this choice in order to “make Exonians feel safer when submitting their compliments. Not revealing who we are, we think, reassures everyone that they’re submitting to a safe environment.”

Moving forward, they hope to “continue business as usual” while advancing their mission to foster positivity that extends from the screen to amongst students on campus. They added, “We’re also considering adding some fun features but won’t announce them just yet.”

One of the few meme accounts on Instagram, @bludwinfartmeister1, also contributed anonymously, sharing that the goal has always been “to brighten the days of as many Exonians as possible.” 

They explained, “I think this campus can get so serious sometimes and it’s important to just let loose! I think I’m achieving my goal right now, as I’ve walked by several people laughing at my content and it has warmed my heart. I also just am out-of-pocket and want to post content that makes me laugh as well.”

The anonymous owner of the account added that “I think short and sweet content that elicits chuckles just works. Everyone is short on time here and so making content that triggers a happy response within 15 seconds makes the most of that. As for my popularity, I thank the Exeter population for their support!”

For @prawsleftpinky, their meme Instagram account “is my way of giving back to the Exonian community.” With only 130 followers, the account still makes students laugh with bombastic images and bold captions. 

Kashif similarly expressed his thanks to the Exeter community for the strong support. “I’m pleasantly surprised and I’m really glad to have this outpouring of affection towards the account,” he added. “I want to continue doing specials, bringing in more people, and maybe featuring different teachers and departments—really engaging even more with the community in that way.”

Students’ opinions on the entire range of platforms, however, are as varied as the accounts themselves.

One anonymous upper shared a relatively critical perspective. “Some of the accounts are good, but most of them are very odd.” They added, “I think a lot of them are hurting us. Some are harmless, but a lot of them post hurtful pictures or comments of others.”

Conversely, lower David Liu shared, “Student-run Instagram accounts such as @pea.stuco, @pea.stuact, or @bigredzone_ are usually entertaining and let me know about student life. @bigredzone_ is my favorite account for this reason.” 

Liu continued, “I think student-run Instagram accounts are very beneficial to our community because some information, such as student life should be maintained and organized by students. Faculty or other adults may not be as aware of student culture as the students.” 

When asked about the kind of Instagram account he would create, he shared, “I think that when friend groups make joint accounts, they can create a stronger bond between friends.”

Senior Catherine Yan noted both sides of the argument, sharing, “In my experience, I’ve found some accounts funny and accurate in depicting small aspects of Exeter life, and others to be out of pocket. Nowadays I don’t really keep up with the student-run accounts, but I’ve liked @exiepolls and @exeter_compliments in the past, because it was interesting to see different people’s opinions and actual compliments being posted frequently. The accounts seemed to have an overall positive impact on the community.”

As times change and social media becomes more prevalent in adolescent life, these student-run accounts become an outlet for Exeter students to take a break. These accounts give students some quick, niche memes or comedic skits to brighten up their day. While their jokes may seem silly to anyone else, these accounts are a respite for Exonians from a barrage of homework assignments and tests.