Sticky notes represent the main external conflicts of Posted. The sticky notes themselves are a stand-in for technology (text messaging and social media) once phones are banned at BMS. The notes become an outlet for the thoughts of BMS’s students, as well as a battleground for ideas. The notes symbolize the power of anonymity. Students never sign the sticky notes, allowing them to post messages without fear of having their words traced back to them. The notion of sharing ideas without consequences leads to students becoming bolder with their messages. This perceived freedom keeps students from seeing the harm their messages do until the war escalates to the “TOTAL ROMAN” message on Wolf’s locker.

The escalation of sticky notes also mirrors the progression of conflict in general. The trend begins with Deedee posting harmless notes on his friends’ lockers. A few people adopt the practice, followed by a few more, until the entire student body uses sticky notes to put their most private thoughts on display. The post-and-response format of the sticky note war at BMS is similar to “flame wars” on social media. By definition, a flame war is a conflict where increasingly mean or disparaging comments are exchanged on an online platform.