Coming onto campus as a freshman with a head full of hopes, dreams and a love for new experiences, it is not an entirely unique claim to say that the only thing awaiting me was disappointment. There is a somewhat enigmatic concept known as the “College Experience” that exists in every prospective student’s mind whether they like it or not, unique to everyone based on what they value, be it sports, studying or social interaction. We strive to achieve it, and we think it will make us happy once achieved. It is unsurprising then that when this “College Experience” we each create in our heads fails to live up to our ideals, frustration sets in. Where else to vent this frustration, this longing for an end-all-be-all happiness, than on an anonymous online board full of endless tortured souls such as yourself? Jodel fits this role wonderfully on a college campus — — better than anything I have witnessed before. Its power lies in its accessibility, and above all else, its anonymity.

Walk down Martin’s Way and reflect on what you see. While the wind and snow would have you believe that you are walking through some twisted version of hell, you might see your fellow students. It is very likely that you do not wonder about whatever goes on in the mind of the average Martin’s Way occupant. Main Character Syndrome has taken hold; you are the most important person in the world, and everyone else is a side character. This experience is not necessarily a bad thing, considering the amount of responsibility and commitment thrust upon us at our age. We simply have too much on our minds to regularly think about others, and as such, we tend to act as if we are the only people in the world who can experience emotion, bad and good. Now reflect on a five-minute scroll through the equally hellish landscape that is Jodel. Other people have thoughts and opinions and frustrations too? Who would have thought? You will quickly realize that rampant depression and sexual frustration are not (and never were) unique to you.

There is a kind of comfort in this realization that binds our college community together. It is all too easy to feel like the only person in the world when so far away from home, and especially when the people around you seem so invested in their own lives. Sometimes, all you need is a simple, “Yeah man, I feel the same way,” to lift yourself out of a rut.

Jodel’s anonymity allows for the most candid, unfiltered and human thoughts to reach the outwardly apathetic population of Hamilton College. And yes, this also includes the common, “Need head rn” post (it seems that everyone needs head expeditiously all the time, if you spend enough time on Jodel). In my experience, Jodel posts range from deep and primordial discussions of loneliness and social dependence to funny and honest observations on the superficiality of party interactions. There is no limit to the kinds of topics observable on Jodel, and it is unsurprising that most discussions include subjects which you would never directly talk about to a stranger (or even to the people closest to you) — things too human, and oftentimes too tacitly demonstrated, for daily conversation. Jodel allows for the average person to put those feelings into words and put it out there in the hope that somebody resonates with it, and to perhaps find some solace in knowing that they are, in fact, not alone.

Now all this being said, Jodel is not a one-stop-shop to cure yourself of your daily anxiety and depression, or even the general sadness of life. Oftentimes, going onto Jodel to read about the thoughts of other people can have the opposite effect. An expected side effect of having pure human emotion and thought on display is the feeling of things being all too real. Those who experience troubles too grand to deal with on their own often reach out, because their thoughts have no other way to settle. While Jodel might seem like the perfect place to vent your frustration, it can also hit disconcertingly close to home if you find yourself overly receptive to emotionally raw and vulnerable ideas. The best method of seeking validation for your turbulent and overwhelming feelings, tried and true through time, is speaking about them to a person you trust. This is certainly easier said than done for some, being so far away from home and comfort, and it is easy not to trust anyone around you with your feelings. That in mind, I think Jodel can exist as a place of small relief for those feeling lost, confused and alone.

Hearing all this, you would be forgiven for thinking that Jodel is a sad and miserable app full of sad and miserable people venting about their sad and miserable lives. Go on the app for five minutes and it will become apparent how wrong this assessment is. Other people, if you can believe it, can be funny and insightful. It stands to reason, then, that you can easily find many interesting and humorous comments on Jodel. I can give you immediate proof: the first Jodel I saw when getting on the app not two minutes before writing this read: “Call me feral, but I will bark at you to assert my dominance,” a sentiment I found relatable. Would I do so in real life? Not likely, but it sets an amusing scene. This interaction with a Jodel post is far from unique; day after day, I go on Jodel and think the words ‘real’ and ‘true’ around thirty times before I close the app. The little moments throughout your day when you think of something insightful or funny and you just wish you could tell someone are precisely Jodel’s purpose. When things get too heavy and you need to vent- — this, too, is what Jodel is for. You hardly have to take my word for it (although you may as well, given that you are already this far into the article) — download the app and see for yourself.