You know that you’re in for an interesting time when the first post you see on an app is about being disappointed that Dr. Oz lost to John Fetterman. I don’t know which part of the meme was better; the poor formatting or the fact that it was posted over four days after the election was called.

The app is Sidechat, an anonymous social media app not unlike Yik Yak, except you can create and post memes as well. The big difference between the two is that Sidechat makes you create your anonymous account with your school email, so that every post you see was made by a college student. Think of it like a Villanova subreddit, but if the only people who could access the subreddit were Villanova students.

The app is also full of “Sidechats”, which are separate sections to post more specific things. These Sidechats can be viewed by anyone with an account, not just Villanova Students. I went under the “Advice” Sidechat and was bombarded with five posts in a row about dating and love advice. Pepper in some random questions about buying Timberland or Ugg boots and a few existential “What’s the point” posts and you’ve got the basic idea.

As of now, the app does not get a lot of traction. It appears to still be getting its footing, and when you compare it with the giant, instant success of Yik Yak, it can be hard to see this app having a future. To be fair, Yik Yak was returning, and many people wanted to go back for the nostalgia. Sidechat does not have any of this charm, and it shows in its lack of users.

I took to the app to ask it some of my own questions to see how much buzz I could get on my posts. Usually, when you post on Yik Yak, you get instantly downvoted five times and the post is removed, so the goal here was to have people enjoy what I say.

I went to the main Villanova page and made a meme about how difficult it is having class on the fourth floor of Tolentine, an experience I have actually never had. I understand that this makes me privileged, but this is not the point. Was it a good meme? Not really. It took a total of 3 minutes to make. Did it represent the amount of effort other people put into memes I saw? Absolutely.

I forgot about the app entirely for two weeks. Going back, my post had 33 upvotes and no comments. Scrolling through my homepage, it still feels like a smaller version of Yik Yak. I do not see Sidechat taking off, especially with the end of the semester approaching, but if you are looking for a substitute for Yik Yak, it is a fine place to start.