By Tim DeLouchrey
Sports Editor
WA Compliments, a social media account that anonymously spreads compliments from an anonymous source to the receiver, has made a comeback on Twitter after the Facebook version of the account from a couple years ago died down. The owner of the current account was not affiliated with the previous Facebook page.
Though the owner of the account has not revealed who he is, he has said that he is a senior boy.
He agreed to be interviewed anonymously and had this to say about his inspiration for creating the account:
“Lately with the new app Yik Yak, I’ve seen and heard things about people that were horrible. It blew my mind because not too long ago we would give each other anonymous compliments on Facebook, but now we somehow ended up going to anonymous insults and cyber-bullying. Also, the whole Robin Williams situation made me realize the importance of treating people nicely. I believe that as people, being kind to each other is a responsibility and not a choice. So I thought bringing back WA Compliments would help my cause and help show people that just a little bit of kindness and love can go a long way.”
The allusion to Robin Williams was in regard to his suicide which posed as an indicator to the creator of the new account that people needed to be kinder to one another. He also mentioned Yik Yak, an anonymous, location based “twitter” which allows students within a certain radius of each other to “yak” something (create a post on the app) and it will be placed on a feed anonymously that is viewed in a style similar to Twitter.
He went on to say that he is “definitely” happy to be running the account. Also saying that “there’s not better feeling than making someone smile.”
So far, twenty-two Westford Academy students have received compliments in just over a day. Junior Eric Frankfort was one of the students among them.
“It was a nice surprise when I saw it,” said Frankfort. “I didn’t expect it because I didn’t even know a WA Compliments page on Twitter existed but when I saw the page and saw what they had said, it was a great feeling. Even though it was anonymous, it was great to know that someone thought that highly of me.”
The burning question still remains: who is the owner of the WA Compliments account? Though he admitted that a few people do know who he is, he does not plan on completely revealing his identity, as he feels the account “has not yet reached its full potential” in terms of the good that it can do before he reveals himself and puts an end to it.
The source had a finalizing statement in regards to what he is doing: “Always remember that although actions do speak louder than words, words still speak loudly.”
