Do you want to speak candidly about something without revealing your name? There's an app for that.
Yik Yak is a relatively new social media platform made specifically for college campuses. It is designed like Twitter, but is anonymous. Anyone who registers can post messages anonymously and read messages, or yaks, from other users within a 1.5 mile radius. Users can then upvote or downvote the messages.
The Rules and Info section of the app states that Yik Yak was made to create communities that allow anyone to connect and share information.
However, some students see a problem with the anonymous social media platform — users are able to post comments that could be considered sexist, vulgar or racist.
One recent post read, “Whenever I’m on a crowded bus, I grope as many girls as I can.”
A handful of colleges, such as the University of Iowa, have banned Yik Yak because of the inappropriate messages and death threats transmitted through the app.
“I don’t totally understand why people use it,” said theatre freshman Camille Thomas. “I think it’s stupid and dangerous.”
Sometimes the app is cluttered with jokes or comments such as “Guys tomorrow is Monday...you know what that means?!?! COMBOS!!” Usually, there are complaints about an upcoming exam: “Professors don’t go to exams, why should I?”
Some students such as arts and humanities freshman Aaron Sanford think the app is a good way for students to express themselves in college without fearing repercussions.
“Sometimes you want to talk about school, a class or your job, but you can’t tweet about it because you can get in trouble, so you can just yak about it.”
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