Social media is a vital tool for communication between college students. Like many tools, it is often mismanaged and used for cyberbullying. Fizz, a private social media app for college campuses, has become a platform where negativity and toxicity run rampant.
In order to join Fizz, users must register using their college email addresses to verify their identity as students. In the past three years, the app became popular within college communities as it allows for users to connect with other students from their campuses. All posts within the app are anonymous.
The app was launched in 2021 by two Stanford students, Teddy Solomon and Ashton Cofer, who saw a need for connection amongst college students during the COVID–19 pandemic. However, the app has drifted from its original intent of fostering connections and has become a platform for promoting harmful rhetoric and posting inappropriate comments about other students or university staff.
The anonymity of Fizz separates it from other popular social media apps such as TikTok or Instagram because it allows users to post problematic content with no accountability or repercussions. Another issue with this feature is that the anonymity only extends to the poster, failing to protect students and faculty from being name dropped in hateful posts.
“The thing about fizz is it’s cool and all except when you give people who can’t say s—t in person a platform to speak and now they can be rude without consequences,” one user wrote.
One post, which has 2,005 Fizzes (votes), features a poll that reads “guys: what is the highest weight that a girl could have that you’d be willing to accept (to date)?” with the options being 90 lbs., 100 lbs., 110 lbs., 120 lbs., and more than 130 lbs.
Another user wrote, “i’m sorry but usf has the ugliest girls.”
Fizz also features a range of racist, ableist and discriminatory posts, which the Foghorn chose not to republish.
These types of posts are concerning, because there are no consequences for the statements circulating on the app. According to a blog post written by Zak Shariff, head of Fizz trust and safety, the app uses AI and moderators to filter out material like bullying, nudity and violence. Despite this, inappropriate posts remain on the app.
Fizz should take a stand against harmful posts on the app and take time to create lasting solutions. This could include removing the anonymity feature, having posts approved by employees before being officially published, and removing accounts who continually post inappropriate content.
News Medical, a media outlet that discusses life sciences, said “The lack of immediate response to [cyberbullies] actions has been suggested to encourage even harsher bullying.” They added, “Evidence shows that the constant and pervasive nature of cyberbullying frequently leads to more detrimental outcomes for victims than traditional bullying, particularly depression symptoms.”
Despite this, negative posts seem to fuel Fizz’s popularity.
“I love s—t posting without consequence, thank you Fizz HQ.” says one post.
“Fizz is so messy… I love it.” says another post
To get a sense of USF’s thoughts on Fizz, the Foghorn used the app to conduct a poll, asking, “What kind of environment do you think Fizz fosters?” The poll received 1,436 votes; “Positive” received 31%, “Negative” received 68%.
According to the Fizz website, they believe the app has fostered a community across various colleges, “Overall, we can’t wait to see what Fizz becomes and are ecstatic to spread a platform of inclusivity and authenticity to students across the country!”
Despite the protections in place, inappropriate information is still successfully published and read by thousands of university students.
One student sums it up, “Turning off fizz notifications has been so good for my mental health.”
Editor-in-Chief: Jordan Premmer, Chief Copy Editor: Sophia McCrackin, Managing Editor: Jordan DelFiugo, Opinion Editor: Dakota Duran, Scene Editor: Elina Graham
