Yikyak, a social media platform that first hit the App Store back in 2013, has found itself a part of the daily routine of thousands of college students. This popularity has come from the ability for students to anonymously post commentary, information, memes and more to a forum dedicated to their school. The anonymity of YikYak allows for nearly unfiltered dialogue among students as well as the sharing of raw opinions, happenings and culture on campus.
The constant feed of input from students allows news to spread across campus like a wildfire. For WVU in particular, events such as the PRT being shut down and class being canceled are often immediately shared to YikYak. Half the time, this kind of information can be found through the other students before the university itself is even able to make a statement. For many students here at WVU, this makes checking YikYak not only a source of entertainment, but also a convenient way to check on the status of campus, the PRT and classes.
The slight downside to the mostly unrestrained speech that YikYak allows for is the instances where misinformation gets spread. While not a seemingly prominent issue, there are instances where rumors are spread and regarded as truths among the student body. This can lead to confusion and overall chaos on the platform. Fortunately, these kinds of gossipy rumors tend to get shut down quickly by other users thanks to the upvote/downvote system the app uses. Any post that gets -5 downvotes gets removed, and all posts have the ability to be reported.
The aspect of YikYak that I believe college students find most appealing is the ability to find out what’s happening on campus in real time. Between advertising campus events and schedule delays, all of it can be found on Yik Yak. It’s one of those things that I’m really glad I discovered my freshman year. It’s helped me on so many occasions, and in an odd way, it’s helped me feel more connected to the student body here on campus.
One other thing about Yikyak that I think has made it become even more popular amongst students is the new game features. They’ve added games that are similar to what you could find on the New York Times website, including variants of Wordle, daily crosswords and even its own version of sudoku. Outside of games, this semester, YikYak has had two large events on the platform. The first one was YakMatch this February, where students had the ability to in some simple information and were anonymously matched with people who had similar interests. The next event happened in March, where Yakmadness took over the platform. This event had students competing for their school against other schools in simple online games. Things got very competitive online, and lots of students were actively engaged in the event.
So between the free commentary, exciting games and events, I would argue that yikyak is one of the best social media platforms for college students. It’s also completely free, making it inclusive for a majority of college students. Through yikyak, I’ve seen people find friends, seek advice and share their hard times during college. It’s always great to see people come together, especially when they are sharing experiences and comforting one another. Some people may not like the seemingly brutal commentary of yikyak, but personally, I find it relatable.
It’s nice to know when other people are struggling or are frustrated with the same things as you, even if you don’t know them personally. It’s nice to know that the people around you, the people who go to the same school as you, share similar opinions. Overall, yikyak is a great way to connect, relate, and share with peers of the same age. The camaraderie and school spirit that yikyak encourages is invaluable, and there’s no other app quite like, that’s why, in my opinion, every college student should at least give it a try.