Confession is Spelled P-O-W-E-R: MiniPaper

Even after many years of technological advancement, the nature of confession survives with almost perfect authenticity; technology has touched, but not transformed the polar ends of sinful openness. Like in The Scarlet Letter, there is still public scandal, and there are still secret acts. Rather, modern media has amplified that area in between, where individuals may choose either to reveal or conceal their minor flaws and transgressions. Programs like Facebook, Twitter, Pintrest, YouTube, Blogger, etc. indicate an evolving view of personal disclosure, summarized by the word “more.” Thus, the lesser errors and imperfections of human existence now claim a larger online acknowledgement than ever before.

As online openness grows, so do the indulgent confessions, (if you're wondering just what that means, check out Sixbillionsecrets or some of the public journal entries on my-diary). As those become more common, it only follows that people would adapt to the trend and use that influence for purposes other than penitence. The cyber-society created by modern media gathers a world of imperfect people and holds them just close enough that one average sin, when advertised properly, wields social influence. Essentially, confession serves as an instrument of social power; it works internal changes on the sinner, alters an individual’s social conditions and has potential to change widely held perceptions of morality and social structure.
The power of confession breaks down into three spheres of influence: internal self, immediate surroundings, and society at large. The traditional view of confession would restrict it largely to the first sphere, with repentance as its sole aim. In this increasingly social world, however, those second two spheres demand attention. In a thesis project centered on truthful vs. false self-representation, Jennifer Sawyer says this,

“Confessional dialogue knits intimacy. It serves as a rite and acts as moderator. It melts isolation, connects one to the other and reinforces community.” (Sawyer 4)

Unlike more traditional communities, the cyber community reaches beyond the picket fence and defies geographical boundaries; for the first time, community can revolve solely around around cultural, emotional, and experiential ties. In addition, the vast majority of those who participate in this social revolution towards technology do so voluntarily, and will therefore be more willing to assimilate into online communities and share personal information. They seek the social connection, and by extension, the influence of the peers they seek.
Once those social connections begin to thrive and that confessional instinct finds expression in this more inviting outlet, the group aspect of confession comes into play.  Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, explains the source of that power,

“The complaint of a human heart, sorrow-laden, perchance guilty, telling its secret, whether of guilt or sorrow, to the great heart of mankind, beseeching its sympathy or forgiveness... It was this profound and continual undertone that gave the clergyman his most appropriate power.” (Hawthorne 188)

This appeal, therefore, lends rhetorical influence to those who would share their sins with their similarly burdened, and therefore sympathetic, peer group. Whether in something as silly as an exasperated tweet or as sober as an online addiction program, the internet amplifies that undertone of identification and understanding by assembling the like-minded and allowing them to extend influence over one another.

   MaKenna Phillips, an undergraduate student immersed in both the critique of social tendency and in social media itself, claims, “Sometimes, confession isn't just confession, but a call for action. Sometimes, it is willing something to change.” Social confession itself represents a phenomenon not represented in The Scarlet Letter; it is neither Hester's public condemnation nor the Reverend's reclusive secrecy. Not everyone faces public shame for acts of adultery, but many feel burdened by past mistakes or isolated by certain beliefs or behaviors. The web expands the options of those who stand in the middle of the moral spectrum,  and offers them a previously unexistent environment in which to air personal flaws. Universal imperfections in human nature make this middle ground relevant to everyone, and the ever reaching arms of media seem to embrace this human tendency towards personal disclosure. To those individuals who likewise embrace the openness of modern media culture, enjoy this environment so unlike those of the past. That said, please also recognize the increasing tendencies toward personal revelation; the power of social confession may change both one's own ethics and those of the online environment in which you thrive.  


Sawyer, Jennifer G. In the Absence Of: Truthtelling and Lying. Thesis. University of Massachusettes, 2007. Web. 29 May 2012.