Generation Z is the loneliest generation. Or so says the website associated with Fizz, the anonymous app for high school and college students that has taken campuses over in the wake of the pandemic.
Fizz was started by two freshmen at Stanford. Informed by their pandemic-clouded collegiate experience and a lack of connection forced by being limited to only virtual interactions, they started Fizz: “by students, for students.” In the FAQ section of the Fizz website, they argue that “a core element of Fizz is user ownership of their own identity,” yet the entire point of the app is always maintaining an anonymous identity. Judging by the website, it is unclear whether or not Fizz would cooperate with a campus investigation, but maintained they would cooperate with a legal investigation. Fizz says “Many users choose to post Fizz content under their name. Others post under pseudonyms or usernames. Regardless, we’ve seen thriving, healthy online communities emerge from Fizz.” Whether or not healthy communities have been created through Fizz, many students have commented on the toxicity that Fizz can bring.
The app Fizz launched at the College in the fall of 2022 and was immediately somewhat of a joke amongst students on campus. Those who were at school at this time remember what felt like everyone posting an infographic announcing the app’s launch on their story. The catch? A $15 Venmo if you posted that infographic. Nights in the dining halls were taken over by Fizz ambassadors with boxes of Dunkin’ Donuts and merchandise with the logo. The immediate reaction from the student body indicated confusion, with many students joking that it seemed like a “multi-level marketing scheme.” With the small monetary incentive, the app began to grow, with an Instagram account that posted the funniest or most relevant posts.
As of May 2024, there are 240+ colleges and 50 high schools using Fizz. The app currently does not generate revenue and is funded by investors. They state their goal is to grow Fizz while creating a positive experience for their users. As for the future, they have explored and will continue to experiment with monetization opportunities and brand partnerships. They state that they do not, and will never, sell personal information to third parties. At the launch, students were hesitant to download the app due to the aggressive marketing campaign, additionally, the pay for the moderator job seemed to be too good to be true. The moderator job involves posting 30 times a day and reviewing posts that are reported by other users or flagged by the system for violating the Community Guidelines. Moderators were paid $500 per month. They were instructed to make college-specific content that grabbed the user’s attention. Their moderation of Community Guidelines had no oversight from members of the Fizz team and was based on the specific moderator’s opinion of a post.
Usership quickly moved away from Yik Yak, the previous anonymous app used by anyone within a five-mile radius, to Fizz, which required a valid school email to be a part of it. It created a cohesive Colby community, without Thomas College or Waterville residents able to see posts, and allowed the College’s students to see posts even when not physically on campus. All of a sudden, students were able to post videos, images, gifs, polls, and memes. Each post can be tagged under a certain category: question, confession, crush, dm me, event, psa, shoutout, dub, rip, meme, video, and lost and found. Students can then sort posts by these categories to browse them. Posts can also be sorted by the most recent posts, the quickest rising posts, and the top posts–by any time frame.
The current top post of all time has 967 “upvotes” and says “me as soon as I leave campus” and shows an image of a student running to Chipotle, the popular fast food Mexican chain that previously had a location in Augusta frequented by students. This Chipotle location closed in 2022 due to a workers’ move to unionize, and the company paid a $240,000 settlement to those workers in 2023 according to CBS. Given a cult-like love of Chipotle, the rural setting of the College, and the closing of the closest location, a joke about running to Chipotle immediately upon leaving campus makes sense.
With any online platform, especially one whose central focus is anonymity, there are well-founded concerns about bullying and harassment. The app is not affiliated with the school, and on their website, they make it clear that while they do not condone negative peer-to-peer interactions, they do condone “jokes, memes, complaints, and commentary around teachers and parents” and say they are “allowed and expected.” Citing the nature of the app as a student community, they state that “there will be times where users come to blow off steam, express frustrations, or just crack jokes about the happenings in their school.”
Other anonymous apps have popped up such as Red Cup, an app meant to share with other students if you have a crush on them. Each Thursday night, students organize a night out at a local bar for students 21+, and recently, Red Cup offered to buy a student a beverage if they downloaded the app. It seems to have a similar model to Fizz, with money pouring in, but unclear returns.
~ Hannah Perfetti `25
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