Are Internet Confessions Good for the Soul?

The new internet rage of posting "confessions" onto willing websites would appear, to some, to have merit in that it allows you to give "voice" to all those pent-up confessions that may be at the bottom of your anxiety, depression or guilt. But is that really so? Where's the real upside to this and what about the other side of the coin, the dark side? Isn't this just a perfect example of voyeurism, aka Peeping Tom Syndrome? Sounds like it to me.

Some therapists believe that depression comes from keeping things bottled up inside you and, perhaps, it can even cause things like cancer. We've heard that it's good to let your rage out, too, because if you don't, it may come back to bite you in an uncomfortable place. Are these pundits correct in their assumptions? I don't believe so and I also have an opinion on whether confession is good for the body and soul.

The pundits assume that keeping these secrets hidden can result in an altered immune system that leaves you vulnerable to disorders and a target for diseases. I'm not sure that's exactly the case here. We know that people who have serious illnesses, such as cancer, often feel depressed and that the depression precedes the diagnosis of cancer. But does that mean that cancer is a direct result of something that caused the depression or that cancer causes a biological change which leads to depression? Both would seem likely possibilities, but the depression causing cancer idea really hasn't played out in the research I've seen.

The research isn't as straightforward as we would like and there are plenty of studies that seem to prove some point or another. In the social sciences, we refer to it as cherry-picking, or selecting the studies that seem to prove your point. Every grad student has been called on that one. Once we look at the studies carefully, we find they don't hold up and there were factors which weren't considered. It's the nature of human beings. Some will feel better after confessions and some may just feel better after a brisk walk and no confession.

But what about confessions on the internet? Isn't it just a harmless exercise that will, indeed, lead to relief of symptoms and promote health? I'm definitely not sure here and, in fact, I think it may have more of that underbelly to which I referred earlier. Once you begin to reveal things, there will be people who will be waiting for you like a lamb going to its final reward on the dinner table. The more people out there, the greater the possibility, in fact the probability, that you will have someone stalking you, trying to find you or wanting to play with your head. Where's the benefit in harassment?

The internet already has enough people disguising themselves as someone they're not. The idea of "confessions" will just be too tempting for them. There will also be those who make up confessions just to shock the reader and get their joy that way. Then there will be others who will concoct incredibly horrible stories of life that will make people want to cry, only to be taken in.

Internet confessions good for your health? I think not. Something you'll regret? Possibly.

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