Guilty pleasures – we all have them. Once they were secrets no one was supposed to know about. Today, the opposite is true. Berit Glanz explores how personal and embarrassing moments are shared online – boldly and globally – often revealing something profoundly human.
We all have things we love doing – or at least do regularly – that we rarely admit to. Like late-night snacking, staying in bed too long, doomscrolling through social media or secretly watching the neighbours. These “guilty pleasures” might be socially inappropriate or aesthetically unappealing, exposing sides of ourselves we’d rather keep hidden – sometimes even from our own eyes.We eat frozen pizza three times a week, despite wanting to live more healthily. We pick at our nails during movies or binge watch gross pimple-popping videos on YouTube. Some of our preferred pastimes might even skirt the edges of legality – like repeatedly mis-scanning items at the self-checkout or sneaking an apple from a neighbour’s tree.
Staged Self-Presentation
Social media thrives on precisely this aspect of human nature. In recent years, a culture of “authenticity” has emerged online, defined by constant oversharing and the disclosure of personal vulnerabilities, dark sides and transgressions. Yet what appears spontaneous and genuine is often carefully staged. The result? Strangers begin to identify with these online personas, forming what are known as parasocial relationships.Sharing secrets, unpopular opinions or embarrassing confessions – sometimes anonymously – has been a common practice since the early days of the internet. For years, people have been anonymously revealing their most intimate moments and enthusiastically discussing them on forums and subreddits, on platforms like Grouphug or via Twitter bots like @Fesshole. Humans love to dissect social scandals, cringeworthy situations and morally questionable behaviour – and the internet never runs out of material.
No Nore Anonymity
In the past, people hid behind anonymity or used forums as a space for creative writing, spinning absurd stories to make their “secrets” go as viral as possible. Today, the trend has reversed. On TikTok and Instagram, memes increasingly showcase confessions openly and boldly. The hashtag #SorryNotSorry captures the spirit most aptly: it’s about acknowledging something you might normally apologise for – but sharing it anyway, defiantly shrugging off any guilt.For a while now, videos tagged #UnfortunatelyIDoLove or #LeiderLiebIch have been popping up regularly on my multilingual feed. In them, people film themselves while listing, via on-screen text, all the things they probably shouldn’t do – but secretly love anyway. Often, though not always, the clips are set to Joe Walsh’s 50-year-old classic Rocky Mountain Way, perfectly conveying the defiant #SorryNotSorry vibe.
The Global Appeal of Confessions
Some of the video content is mundane, some a little shocking, but much of it is simply endearing and deeply human. I enjoy the collective “writing” of these little sins and flaws. I’ve also noticed how the trend is spreading, taking on unique names in different languages. As memes circulate globally, they perform an ongoing act of translation. The English #UnfortunatelyIDoLove becomes #LeiderLiebIch in German. Across languages and cultures, we clearly delight in reflecting on our own quirks and the confessions of others, engaging with memes that enable us to do just that.
Word! The Language Column
Our column “Word!” appears every two weeks. Itis dedicated to language – as a cultural and social phenomenon. How does language develop, what attitude do authors have towards “their” language, how does language shape a society? – Changing columnists – people with a professional or other connection to language – follow their personal topics for six consecutive issues.
October 2025
