From stories of laundry machines overflowing to roommates eating all of your favorite snacks to silly professors dressed up in costumes, Fizz is the new app loading onto the phones of Fordham students across the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses.
Fizz allows its users to register for a specific college campus, and is seen at schools across the country. Although not directly affiliated with the University, Fordham’s Fizz scene has over 1,700 active users. Some Fizzers choose to claim a screen name attached to their posts, which has made for a few consistent and popular Fizz “celebrities.”
“[Fizz] allows people to say how they truly feel about matters without fear of losing face but also allows you to make connections,” said Fizz user “POTUS biren.” They post almost daily on the app and currently hold the 11th spot on the Fizz leaderboard. “It’s like any other social media platform but also unique to Fordham since you can only experience the Fordham fizz at Fordham.”
Fizz posts range from memes about the campus cats and classroom crushes to stories about eventful Ram Van rides and roommate horror stories.
Ashli DeMaria, FCRH ’24, is one of two Fizz moderators hired by the company to review Fordham Fizz content. DeMaria was hired over the summer by Fizz via LinkedIn along with 11 other moderators, but is only one of two remaining on the app. She highlights that the demographic for the app is mostly first-years and sophomores.
“I’d say about half of the users want to lift each other up and the other half want to bandwagon on some light-hearted anonymous cyberbullying,” said DeMaria. “Whether or not that is a good thing, I can’t say for certain, but I think as long as people abide by the guidelines of the app, everyone is entitled to say what they want. I feel like it’s a step in the right direction for giving kids who just got to college a way to find their voice and authentic/original opinions.”
Fordham has numerous student run accounts that allow students to anonymously share aspects of campus life. One of the most popular accounts with a couple thousand followers, Fordham Flirts, was renamed to Fordham Saints in November. The account used to allow students to anonymously share their crushes around campus, but now posts quotes from various saints. Following the change, students have turned to Fizz to post these anonymous confessions and stories.
Some students have even found new friends through Fizz that they wouldn’t have met otherwise. “I see Fizz as a space where I can express myself and connect with others in so many ways,” said popular Fizz user “Bajablastangelgirl.” “In particular, I have found so many new Fordham friends who really resonate with me, my general life philosophy and niche interests.”
Anonymous apps allowing students to post jokes, flirts and stories are no stranger to Fordham’s campus, with students using apps similar to Fizz in the past, such as YikYak and SideChat, to interact with other Fordham users and share inside information about life on campus. Both apps allow students to anonymously share what’s on their minds and chat directly with other anonymous users from their college.
“While I wasn’t super involved during the days of YikYak, I think Fizz is different in the way it allows users to utilize the different category tabs and recent memes/gifs/etc,” said DeMaria. “I think it showcases the best of some of the non-affiliated Instagrams that have gotten popular since my time here while maintaining the ability for creative output.”
However funny and lighthearted Fizz is at most times, the app is no stranger to posts of cyberbullying, prompting users to start anonymous and lengthy arguments within the app.
“Bajablastangelgirl” is no stranger to bullying on the app as well. “I’ve had to deal with people making crazy wrong takes, downright bullying me and just getting other users to downvote me because they’re tired of seeing me in their feed,” she said. “I think people are annoyed with seeing the same people post but personally I think the usernames are a fun way to express ourselves without revealing our names.” She holds the third spot on the Fizz leaderboard.
“In theory I think it’s cool for the school to have its own social media app, and it being anonymous sounded like a good idea because students can speak their minds,” said Analicia Jackson, FCRH ’27. “But, I find that in a school full of rich white kids who’ve lived in bubbles their whole lives, they tend to have sheltered and unrealistic mindsets about reality because they’ve been so privileged growing up. They tend to say out of pocket unnecessary s*** that just shows their ignorance of the outside world.”
DeMaria said new features and updates are currently under development with Fizz, and that the company’s goal is to “evolve” with its users and improve daily. “I think it’s actually become a fun way for students to express their honest opinions about one another though, and there’s been some really good interactions that I’ve seen,” she said.
