Handwritten notes are no longer the way to confess your love. Secret admirers instead utilize Stony Brook Admirers 2, a Facebook page with over 4,000 likes and just over 4,000 posts.
There are two ways to submit a post to Stony Brook Admirers 2. The first way is to send the post directly to the inbox on the SBA 2’s Facebook page. The other is to send a post anonymously through the page’s
Tumblr account.
“I love knowing that people have feelings for others and they go out of their way to let the world know (even if the post is anonymous they still attempted),” one of two administrators of the page, who chose to remain anonymous, said via Facebook.
The page administrators claim they receive anywhere from 30 to 40 posts per day. On a particularly active week, they may have over 200 posts, with fluctuations during test weeks.
“The most interesting thing about running this page is seeing what some people submit,” the previously mentioned administrator said. “The fact that they went out of their way to give someone a sweet message, ‘like hey, I think you are cute, keep it up’ just makes my day.’”
The page is under new management since its inception, therefore the original intention for the page is unknown. But the new managers have their own ideas.
“I feel like the page was inspired by the fact that many of us fall in love or find someone we fancy, yet we cannot build the confidence to approach them,” one of the administrators said. “Posting on here helps people let their crush know there is someone out there interested in them of the page.”
The administrators receive feedback from a handful of people giving their thanks to the page because it gave them an outlet to tell the person they liked how they felt.
Oftentimes, the administrators will read through some out-of-the-ordinary posts.
“From time to time, I will get strange posts, where they dream about doing the weirdest things to the person, or having things done to them,” said one of the administrators of the page. “I think those are funny, but some of the details people put in are crazy and they use so much imagery.”
Those who are frequent viewers of the page might notice some of the same names popping up now and again. But to the people who are being posted about, it sometimes comes off as a joke.
“Most of the time, I’m pretty sure my friends are just making fun of me (one friend in particular whose name I won’t mention), but there are a few genuine posts that are pretty darn cute, and of course I’m extremely flattered by them,” junior biochemistry major Ashwin Kelkar said via Facebook.
In other instances, although flattering, it can be odd to respond to an anonymous post. Sophomore biology major Diana Rubel has experienced this.
“When someone posts about me, I always feel very flattered, but sometimes a little awkward,” Rubel said via Facebook. “For example, I had someone ask me to be their girlfriend over Stony Brook Admirers and while it was sweet, I was a little taken back by being asked out anonymously.”
Although she may have her fair share of admirers on the page, she believes it is a good medium to show appreciation of someone.
This understanding has made Rubel give a piece of her own advice to admirers.
“As for the people who post to the page anonymously, I encourage you to tell the person you admire face to face,” Rubel said. “You’ll never know if they like you back if you remain anonymous forever.”
