Can’t muster up the courage to say hi to that hottie sitting across from you at Hillside? Or do you always happen to lock eyes with a certain someone while at the Plex?
Call yourself crazy, but you have an inkling feeling that he’s checking you out too. So why haven’t you said anything? Well, for starters, it doesn’t help that you’re always stuffing your face with a New England Classic in Hillside, or that your Plex crush is lifting weights twenty feet below the elliptical you’re perched on.
But, that’s not it. Really, you’re scared. Terrified, actually. No one wants to be turned down in person. Isn’t it the guy’s job to ask the girl out anyway? If chivalry really is dead – or worse, you never see him again – all hope is not lost.
Boston College has a homepage on the site, founded by freshman Caroline Mitton just this fall. “I think people fear rejection and are scared to put themselves out there,” says Mitton. “Especially if they don’t really know the person, but just admire them from afar. The anonymity of LikeALittle.com shields people from getting hurt, and it’s just an easy way to throw out a line or a compliment and see if you get any bites!”
After signing in to LAL’s Boston College page, which involves providing a valid BC email, you can initiate a post about your secret (or not so secret) crush. You enter the gender, hair color and location where you spotted the hottie and then a quick flirty message. Other users (hopefully one in particular) can comment and “like” the post on Facebook. Here’s what some fellow Eagles have shared:
Yes, cheesy lines are a-plenty, but they do have a certain ring to them. Sometimes, just enough for a crush-worthy response.
And then there’s those posts that do nothing else, but leave you questioning even more.
Strange, yes. Cruel, hurtful, sexist – not at all. Unlike similar websites, like College ACB and the now-extinct Juicy Campus, Like a Little has a strict no-negativity policy:
Be flirty Bullying behavior
Be fun Sexual harassment
Be complimentary Sexist comments
Check back often! Other negative messages
Anyone with a bc.edu email can delete an abusive post or report it. On top on that, the “Like A Little team is constantly monitoring content users post to the site,” says Abby Goldman, an intern for LAL. “We even have a computerized filter that catches negative words, and any message that is reported twice is automatically deleted.”
For BC students who were once victims of cyber bullying through sites like Juicy Campus, this is good news to hear. “Someone posted awful things about me, calling me a slut and a whore,” said one anonymous senior. They were “saying that I hooked up with all these athletes, had herpes, and even had an abortion.” Fortunately for her, and many others, Juicy Campus fell victim to multiple lawsuits and was taken down in February 2009.
Like A Little fills in the gap (or maybe the wake of destruction?) that other sites have left behind. It provides a safe space for harmless, and shameless, flirting and has even been dubbed the “Match.com for college kids.” Whether it’s just for fun or leads to life-long love, it can’t hurt to check it out. Reading through the posts might just be a better way to procrastinate than Facebook, and (who knows?) you just might spot yourself.
Photo Source:
http://www.eduinreview.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/college-couple1.jpg