Throughout the years, social media has been constantly evolving. From the "Bulletin Boards" of Myspace, to the tweets of Twitter, and selfies of Instagram; a new social app has risen its way into popularity. A new social app that allows users to post messages anonymously without fear of being exposed. What seemed like a harmless social media app however has spawned a variety of vulgar threats, harassment, and abuse.
If you are not familiar with the app Yik Yak, it is basically an app that combines the functions of GPS and instant messaging. People are given the ability to socialize with others around them through different proximity. The basic app features post voting, popular topics tabs, a tab that measures the activity of the user as well as the ability to view other people's "yaks" in different locations. The controversy of this app begins with the cyber bullying among its users. Yik Yak's anonymous posting capability allows its users to make a variety of posts, but there are users who take advantage of this feature. Users feel as if they are protected behind this feature and as a result, comment posts of various vulgarity. Not all users post negatively but as a former user of the app, you can't help but see a vulgar post with each scroll.
From personal experience with the app, I can definitely see its ups and downs. Just last semester, I was browsing through the posts of Yik Yak before seeing a post with a lot of comments. There was a threat against the school with an exact date and time. I was skeptical at first, questioning if the post was just some sick joke or not. It turns out that someone reported this post to the school authority and they took action to ensure the safety of its students. People have the ability to write whatever they want without fear of consequence. I guess this can be a positive aspect for the app because it allows users to stay connected with each other in close proximity. The rest of the day browsing Yik Yak posts however, I was met with various posts regarding sex, comments about professors, and just people commenting on people they saw. If someone were to read a post and know for a fact that they were the ones being talked about, it would be not only awkward but also be considered harassment. The negative aspect of this app is that there is no way to point to the user of the vulgar comment, which leads to anxiety and paranoia for other users who feel they are targeted.
The question begins with, are the users to blame for the negative effects of this app or was this app just a bad idea from the start? Leave your comments below on your thoughts about Yik Yik. This is Leonard Yalong, signing off!
Personally I don't agree with this app only because the posts are anonymous but they are so close together. The person you are standing next to could be the same person who made that comment a while ago and you would never know. If you are wanting to post thing anonymously then use it for questions you feel embarrassed to ask or to recover social status. But any other way it doesn't make sence to me to post what you are thinking and have no one know who you are.
ReplyDeleteI've used this app before as well and there was definitely it pros and cons. The pro was if I didn't know what the were having for dinner at the market, I would post it on yik yak and someone would instantly comment back. Then the negative thing were that many people would post about sex and what the do with their partners and many racial things as well, I didn't like that so I just erased the app.
ReplyDeleteThis app sounds really scary. I like the idea of people being able to express their idea without having to give out personal information but again like you said it feature can be taken as advantage. There are a lot of people in the world that are insecure about themselves and the only way for them to feel better is to put other people down. This could be a good app if they have a way to block comment that are associates with bad things.
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