When I first came to college, I heard of this "fun" app where we could all post anonymously for the entire campus to see. When you open the Yik-Yak app, you get to witness gossip, updates, roommate drama, hookups and so much more. I loved this app at first. I loved getting to know what's going on around campus and felt really connected. As first semester came to a close, however, I began to realize all the negative sides of this app. I've realized that this app is probably one of the worst "pastimes" a college kid could be spending their time on.
We have taken the idea of a anonymous app and turned it into something very negative. Each time I open this app, I rarely see anything positive or genuinely interesting. Instead, I see lots of rude comments being made about anyone and everyone on campus. We use this as a means of ranting or trying to get a certain person's attention without mustering up the courage. Why should we handle our problems when we could Yak about them and let the whole campus get involved instead?
Yik-Yak has definitely turned into a form of cyber bullying. Since no one will know it was us who posted something, it makes us feel powerful and feel that we can say whatever we want. There is no proper guidance and administration, no punishments for what we might say or who we might hurt, and no telling who says what. This app gives us too much freedom that we clearly don't know how to handle. As college students, I thought we moved past petty gossip, especially on this scale.
Another problem I have with Yik-Yak that goes along with the cyber-bullying is the fact that it starts over the smallest comments. A Yak could say "My boyfriend is coming to visit this weekend and I couldn't be more excited" and ten people will post harsh comments, tearing this person that they don't even know apart. We let the smallest things get to us and bring out our mean sides. Is it because the power of the anonymous has gone over our heads, or are we really this angry about such small things?
I have personally been attacked on Yik-Yak multiple times just for voicing my opinion over something small. I've been called multiple vulgar insults, had harsh comments thrown at me out of nowhere, and been given threats. It doesn't matter that it's anonymous, it's still awful and can hurt someone. I think the worst part is that it's coming from people who have no idea who I am, or who might not even understand the context of a Yak. There's a very limited amount of characters to type, but a lot of damage can be made with them.
As popular as this app is right now, I hope we can soon see the unnecessary negativity it is adding to our lives, and delete it. I removed this app from my phone and I can easily say that I don't miss it in the slightest.
We want everyone to treat us like adults and see our maturity, but how can they when we act like this?
