Redmond parents have Facebook page removed

A Redmond School District parent took action and spoke out over a much-maligned Facebook page, and the social media giant eventually heard enough from parents and others and pulled down the “confessions” page.

Students were able to post anonymous confessions to the page, which was controlled by a human administrator. It began to cause an uproar when posts about violent threats and rumors about some students’ sexual orientation came into question.

Eight days ago, a Redmond parent discovered the page, and couldn’t believe what she saw.

“You can read the comments, and some of them are just very disturbing,” Mysti Osborne said Friday. “Kids should not be talking like that, and if they are feeling that way, wanting to harm themselves or engage in sexual acts at school, parents need to address those issues.”

Osborne has a daughter who goes to Redmond Proficiency Academy, where there’s a confessions page, but it hasn’t been active for a year. This week, she and others posted to the KTVZ Facebook page in an attempt to inform parents the page was out there.

She still believes there’s a place for social media, if it’s done properly.

“Technology and the advancement of technology with social media, smartphones and laptops, it’s very dangerous, and as a parent it scares me to death,” Osborne said.

After numerous attempts, Facebook revised their initial decision and took the page down earlier this week.

These pages have been surfacing since last year. The school district says they are aware of them, and believe they’re a detriment to the learning environment.

But confessions pages aren’t subjected to just Redmond — Madras, Bend and Mountain View all had pages within the last year.