Every student spends their four years at Penn being taught to think critically, argue ethically, and lead with integrity. That may mean enrolling in a philosophy class, joining a debate club, or even listening to a Palantir employee give a TEDx Talk in our very own Irvine Auditorium. However, all of those glorious skills fly out the window the moment anyone logs onto Sidechat.
If you frequent Sidechat — or any of its adjacent siblings such as Fizz or YikYak — you’re aware of what goes down: anonymous students post unfiltered, Penn-specific content to a platform monitored by none and seen by all. With hundreds of posts going up daily and their subjects ranging from disastrous midterms to campus crushes, it’s impossible to predict what you may encounter by opening on the app.
When you first download it, you’re asked to validate your school email address before you can log onto our very own Penn-specific server. After scrolling for a few seconds, you are met with vulgar and generally hateful content. It becomes clear that Sidechat is not a harmless space for Penn students to share their authentic thoughts, but rather a breeding ground for hostility and negativity that has no place on our campus.
When I first heard of Sidechat, I questioned if that explained the purpose these anonymous platforms served within our community. I wondered, what is it about a hidden username that makes us abandon our ethics so quickly? Why does being behind a screen make us speak things we’d never think to say in real life? How does this platform move beyond humor toward something truly harmful?
Over the past few weeks, I tasked myself with answering those very questions, finding posts that displayed how anonymous posting is deeper than just the words on your screen. Some comments discussed sexual activity and romantic relationships in vulgar and graphic terms. Others were more harmful, objectifying women, and using stereotypical, bigoted, and racist language. While it’s one thing to just overshare personal details online, it becomes true chaos when hundreds of Penn students upvote problematic comments, making them more visible to all and essentially encouraging others to recreate posts of the same nature.
Across the country, colleges are facing the same issue; students post freely online, making inappropriate comments much to their universities’ dismay. Some colleges have asked Sidechat to update their terms and conditions, advocating for slurs and other offensive words to be banned and for servers to have outside moderators that detect and minimize bigotry. Other schools have reported the targeted usage of proper names and places with the app itself simultaneously making no immediate regulations or efforts to conceal identities.
Prior to it's acquisition by Sidechat in 2023, YikYak was an independent app with wide national appeal. When it initially launched in 2013 the app had no community-specific qualifications, meaning anyone on the internet was eligible for forums. However, after just months of its debut, YikYak’s popularity waned as users reported high levels of toxicity and discomfort associated with the app.
The psychology behind this isn’t new — researchers have long identified what’s known as the online disinhibition effect, the phenomenon in which anonymity strips users of the social accountability that governs their real-world behavior. Without a face, name, or consequence, the brain essentially eliminates all forms of empathy, making it easier to type what you’d never dare to even whisper in real life. Penn students aren’t uniquely cruel or reckless — they’re simply human. And humans, when handed a mask, have a documented tendency to use it.
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Regardless of the outlet, anonymous online gossipping is proven to have a positive correlation with social toxicity. Unlike the real world, anonymity is easily attainable across online platforms, with users rarely facing consequences for posts on these apps. So why are we still using them?
Even though there are undoubtedly faults with Sidechat’s servers, the app does provide an open space for self-expression, something rare online today. Users stay for the hit of dopamine that comes from racking up “karma” and laughing over a shared hatred of a professor, trading their integrity for the cheap thrill of digital validation.
While it’s easy to enjoy a joke about an awful midterm or appreciate a photo of a sunset over College Green, students need to remember the impact of their digital footprint. Not only for their own sake, but also for the hundreds of viewers who use the same app, every day. As our Sidechat platform is relevant and accessible to the whole Penn community, we, as users, need to make an effort to think before posting and encourage our peers to do the same.
Using Sidechat is a choice to abandon one’s morals. It’s not just another social media app, so don’t treat it like one.
JUDAH BLITSTEIN is a first-year studying international relations from Elkins Park, Pa. His email is blits@sas.upenn.edu.
