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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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2 years 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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2 years 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! :)

AndThenICommented
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thank you for being a foster caregiver! My partner and I are getting vetted to be a foster respite carer - basically when full time foster families need a bit of a break then we can take over for a week, kinda like a foster Aunt and Uncle.

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Anyone-for-tea?
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I say this to my niblings too as I was the same! I tell them they look ready for the day, look super cool, etc etc.

Lousha
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I LOVED my first glasses as a kid, felt so sophisticated in them, found the shape of the frame so mature! Not to mention I could see... And I was never teased or bullied because of them. When I look at photos from that time, I can't understand why, those glasses looked horrendous :D They were huge, covered half of my face, I looked like I was cosplaying a grandma :)

Kawaii Potato
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Little bits of kindness, can make anyone's day better❤

CindyLouWho1209
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's so thoughtful and sweet. I was 11 when I got my pair and my mom let doctor select my glasses. They were hideous and I hated them! I would take them off and on at school, only using them as needed.

Ash
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I thought Id look good in glasses so I tried some non prescription ones and people made fun of me and my self esteem is even worse lol.

Alex Smith
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I do the same thing with braces. I always tell them how much I wanted braces as a kid and I have considered getting them as an adult.

Donna Clanclan
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Never had kid. It would drive me insane to deal with my kids constantly loosing their glasses. I had friends who went through this. Luckily, they found a site online that made it affordable. Their kids lost around 8 pairs each, each year.

OneHappyPuppy
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, I do this with kids wearing caps/hats, also my son wears his (we live in a sunny country) and has inspired half the park to wear theirs too :)

deanna woods
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wish I had you around when I first started wearing glasses at fifteen. I know they said ten, but I am sure they would say it to any kid.

Kerry Bullen
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same here, I hated it so I make a big fuss of their cool glasses 👓

Lynn H
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Awww I think that's really awesome and sweet of you and a good idea. My daughter had glasses for a bit and I know she liked the compliments.

Meredith
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Little kids and older women who have quirky glasses. Also women who've let their hair go white or silver. I just gush because my hair likely will never go grey enough. My mums 77 and only grey around her face.

Kim Kermes
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I must remember to do this with everyone. Folks who never had glasses until a certain age can be resistant to them, too.

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James Morris
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2 years 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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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."

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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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2 years 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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2 years 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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2 years 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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2 years 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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2 years 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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2 years 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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2 years 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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2 years 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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#55

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Bec
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That is really sweet and you'll treasure your time together. I know a family whose son's forced their father out of the business when he got older because he did make mistakes and they were frustrated, then when the older brother got older, the younger forced the older brother out too... karma

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Diolla
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think you should have a good talk about this. Might be a win-win for everybody.

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Mistiekim
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was kinda the opposite - I was in pain and throwing up, mom just thought it was the flu. She finally took me and my pediatrician had me rushed to the hospital. My appendix had burst and I would’ve died if she had waited any longer.

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Kathryn Baylis
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, you have to vent somewhere, and doing it in private, with others in the same shitty boat, is the best and most supportive place.

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Donkey boi
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times... Humans should have hooves!

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Brad McCleary
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm torn on this one. One one hand, it feels wrong to go that long without telling him you've cheated on him, but on the other hand, telling him could cause a permanent rift in your relationship, so keeping it secret is best

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Ross Shaw
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My employer has started giving an extra day of PTO during Leap Years.

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d bradley
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

and then you pay for a Starbucks coffee instead of brewing one at home. rocket science in action

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Laura Ketteridge
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Gross misconduct is gross misconduct. It doesn't matter if it was her birthday or not.

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basil
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But smarties aren't chocolate, right? Or is it a cultural thing- either calling all candy chocolate, or there's a different candy in this person's country called smarties that IS chocolate

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SykesDaMan
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What I got from this story is more in the line "B.S jobs" than working "smarter"...

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James Watt
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Political opinions aside , this was just a crappy action on your part.

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Paul C.
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I read that Martin Keown once, while giving an autograph, signed the black panel, on a ball using a black pen.

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Kathryn Baylis
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Have to be honest. Real D**k Move, whoever the f**k you are.

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Panda Kicki
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That was not OK. Every minute the bowel is left exposed increases the risk of infections and complications. Your embarrasment is rather unimportant compared to your parients health.

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