Holding Them Accountable: While many SME parody accounts on Instagram are harmless fun, many more gain followers and likes at the expense of students’ comfort and privacy

When her phone buzzed with a flood of texts from her friend, senior Emma Brown’s passive expression quickly turned into one of flustered embarrassment when she saw the message — a photo of Brown slumped over in her desk that looked like she was sleeping. An already embarrassing situation for most escalated to complete humiliation when it was posted to @smeslumped which has over 50 followers and had already gained 20+ likes in the span of a few minutes.

These recently created SME parody accounts, though usually begun with the intention of “harmless fun,” often exploit the comfort and privacy of unsuspecting students for social media notoriety.

I, for one, have started double-checking my posture whenever I’m sitting in class to make sure I don’t end up on @smepostures, or keeping my guard up at lunch to make sure nobody posts me enjoying a sandwich at my usual lunch table on @sme_eating. My precautions aren’t unwarranted however. Out of an Instagram story poll of 118 East students, 74% said that they were featured on one of these parody accounts without their permission.

The violation of privacy is what makes these accounts inherently harmful. Sure, some may be unusual — like @smeducked, an account dedicated to putting rubber ducks on the Jeeps in the parking lot — but those posts aren’t exploiting someone’s privacy or targeting or calling out anyone in particular. The problem occurs when photos are taken without permission from the person in them — which really should be a matter of basic human decency.

Building off of the principle of permission, the main criteria that separates the acceptable accounts with the problematic ones is an expectation of privacy — or lack thereof. Nobody expects privacy in places like the parking lot, so posting pictures of students’ chaotic parking jobs is harmless. However when someone uploads a picture of someone’s shoes underneath the bathroom stall, the line between lighthearted and harmful may be crossed.

I’ll admit, some submissions to the accounts are funny. For instance, planned-out, intentional pictures of students pretending to sleep on the floor of the gym entrance rolled in a carpet are lighthearted humor. But snapping a picture of your lab partner asleep without their knowledge, only for the photo to be seen by potentially hundreds of people, violates their boundaries and respect.

Though comedic social media profiles like SME Pizza Review Club and ship accounts have been common since middle school, the phenomenon of taking unsolicited pictures of people and posting them is a relatively new trend. With the rise in TikTok and Instagram “fame” accrued by these accounts within the past months, almost every high school in the nation has at least one, if not more, accounts similar to these. 

Its growing popularity combined with the seemingly-overnight success of these accounts leads to more and more students having their privacy violated for social media clout. As long as people keep sending in submissions, the accounts will continue to generate likes and followers at the expense of ashamed students.

Take for example, @sleepytime.sme, who started their Instagram on Dec. 12. After just two days and a handful of posts featuring sleeping students later, the account has already amassed 140+ followers. This isn’t the only instance of a profile like this gaining overnight popularity, however. Accounts like @sme_eating, @smepostures and even @sme_bathroom_feet have all created their pages within the past weeks and have accrued 100+ likes/followers in most cases, more and more cropping up by the day.

The problem with these accounts isn’t the owners, or even the content itself. It’s the lack of permission given by students, especially in situations of expected privacy. 

Next time you think of taking a picture of the kid in your first hour dozing off to a lecture about chemical bonding — consider how you’d feel if the roles were reversed. At the very least, ask for their permission. Fostering a culture of mutual trust among your classmates is always a good thing. Who knows? Maybe it’ll ensure you don’t end up on @smeslumped the next time you lay your head down in Chemistry.