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Letting it all out: How Indonesians vent their frustration online
Early millennials are likely no stranger to agony aunts or advice columns in many publications and platforms. In the social media era, the mysterious personal advisor manifests in many different forms.
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Venting: While some still prefer mainstream social media such as Facebook and Instagram, some have turned to Quora to release their problems. (Unsplash/Sergey Zolkin) (Unsplash/Sergey Zolkin)
E
arly millennials are likely no stranger to the agony aunt or advice columns in many publications and platforms. In the social media era, the mysterious personal advisor manifests in many different forms.
From anonymous Instagram accounts where people can send their problems via direct messaging, to the popular platform Quora, today's youths in distress have their own ways to confide their feelings.
Mahendra, not his real name, was an active follower of the Instagram account @cermindramatis (dramatic mirror), which is now deactivated. He eventually started his vent account, @cerminlelaki (men’s mirror), in October 2018, with more than 361,000 followers on Instagram at the time of writing.
"[I started the account] after @cermindramatis' administrator suggested that I should create a male-only account for venting. Since the administrator of @cermindramatis is a woman, sometimes [she found it] uncomfortable when stories from male readers were too vulgar," said the 37-year-old entrepreneur.
Mahendra constantly reminds his followers that he is not an ustad nor a psychologist. "In writing suggestions or opinions on each post – everything is purely from my personal thoughts," he said.
"I always try to find a neutral opinion as much as I can, in the hope of giving the sender a little peace of mind so that the problem doesn't get worse after the story is posted, although maybe my opinion is not always the right one to apply."
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