In recent months, Pattonville students joined in on the recent trend of making various Instagram accounts highlighting the various aspects of their school, from insects inside buildings and terrible student parking to students not following COVID protocols and other rules that the school set in place.

Some of the many well-known Instagram accounts that Pattonville students have made include @pattonvillesparking, @phs_pull_your_mask_up, @the.yassification.of.phs, and @phs _hoods.

The most popular account, by far, is @pattonvillesparking with a total of 509 followers, which claims that they are “not affiliated with other PHS accounts.”

Assistant principal Mr. Grimshaw shared his views of the student parking account.

“There are 100 something cars on campus each day so students standing around taking pictures, talking, and playing around is dangerous,” Mr. Grimshaw said. “We want everyone to be safe.”

The popularity of the account brought out the wit of Mr. Grimshaw, who often enjoys exaggerating his age and attitude toward technology. “I’m not sure why social media is so popular; I encourage everyone to delete their Instagram accounts immediately.”

The solution to all of this controversy might be really simple. Mr. Grimshaw grumbled, “Get off social media.”

Junior Lily Cave explained Instagram accounts could be seen as controversial. “I honestly think that, especially with how society is now, people are prone to getting hurt from certain things,” she said. “There are accounts like the parking page that could possibly offend someone or even pages that ship couples. Personally, I have gotten shipped with someone and it led to people saying mean things in the comments.”

Despite the controversy these accounts may bring, having something to laugh at after the year students have had is welcome. “I like that it brings enjoyment to everyone that follows those pages,” Cave said. “I think it is fun to see people that I know and possibly even me on the pages and seeing what others are up to.”

In addition, Cave’s favorite account is @the.yassification.of.phs because “it’s all fun and games,” she said. “People are able to submit images of friends and get them turned into makeup and a whole glam look. A whole bunch of people that I know are on there and I just get a good laugh from seeing their faces.”

Speculating on the parking account’s popularity, Cave said, “I enjoy that account because I enjoy looking at that type of stuff to just get a good laugh at people’s parking. Every day I pray that I’m not on there.”

While these accounts are popular, Cave offered some suggestions for improvement. “I think that the accounts could include open up more collaboration possibly,” she said. “Or to have someone make an account that is specifically for other people to submit funny content to post anonymously, so that the page is not based on only one thing. Other than that, as long as the page is being respectful to people, I love what they are doing.”