I like LikeALittle. Really. Like, a lot.

No, wait, come back! I promise I won’t make any more horrible puns. Or at least I’m pretty un-like-ly to.

Like.

At any rate, LikeALittle. For those of you unfamiliar with this popular flirtation facilitation engine, it’s essentially a website that allows you to post anonymous notes to your crush; whether that’s the blonde you’ve been edging toward a lunch date with for months now or the redhead you literally just saw disappear around a corner in Nobel is entirely up to you (though I could probably tell you which one would generate more responses from GAC’s own LikeALittle peanut gallery).

Gustavus certainly has a definite presence on the website, which features sub-sections for many college campuses. There’s a horde of first-years, bumping into people in their oversized 100-level classes and generally bringing high-school-aged notions of college romantic life with them to the site (namely, the idea that it’s cool to be asked out on LikeALittle). There is also a strong contingent representing the GLBTQ scene, mostly those who are looking for signs of life from quiet compatriots (i.e., “where ARE all the same-sex couples on Dive night?”).

However, I did stumble across an admirable post from a prospective student asking about the gay community on campus. He received an outpouring of enthusiastic and supportive comments. Definitely a proud Gustie moment for me.

But that is what fascinates me about this simple slice of Internet procrastination pie: it’s a veritable Gustavus thermometer, not only for the dating scene, but for moods and attitudes in general. For example, the thread gets noticeably quieter on the weekends and around midterms/finals. This tells me that most of the lonely hearts would rather be out making real connections than sitting in front of a computer, composing anonymous sonnets to no one in particular. Yay, psychological health! It also shows that academics take priority over casual romantic overtures, which is probably a good thing, let’s be honest.

Beyond that, though, LikeALittle can tell us much about our collective ideas of Gustavus social life. The gender disparity is a constant point of contention: one of the most common sentiments echoed by women on the page is “Where are all the nice guys?” to which the nice guys often respond, “We’re right here. If you’d stop falling for the douchebags for a moment maybe you’d notice.”

It’s really a giant puddle of missed connections—everyone’s running around in the dark, assuming that the reason they haven’t seen anyone yet is because there’s nobody there. To that I say: if you keep running around long enough, you’ll eventually bump into somebody. Though my personal preference would be to find the door, because really, who wants to run around in a dark room forever?

The anonymity of LikeALittle provides a necessary outlet for the frustrations, failures and fortunes of college life that often don’t get a chance to be voiced. You can hit on that basketball player you’re convinced is out of your league, bitch about how it sucks to be single when your roommates are sick of hearing it, sound out the queer community before you decide whether or not to come out. There’s a lot more to feel safe about when you’re nameless.

If anything, though, we should learn that (at Gustavus at least) it’s okay to have a little more confidence. Sure, there’s the occasional troll on the forum, but for the most part Gusties are pretty supportive. If you’re single, you’re not alone. If you’re in a bad relationship, there are plenty of people to vent to about it. If you want to throw a compliment out to that handsome guy in your econ class, just do it. What’s the worst that could happen? Gusties, for the most part, are nice people. You never know. You could be the “Brunette Girl liked at Campus Center” someone’s been looking for.