As if we weren’t already wasting enough time on sites like Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook, and Tinder (apparently people still use that) a new site, known as Yik Yak, has been causing a stir at college campuses across the country. You’ve probably heard someone mention it in passing, but what is the app really about, and is it worth downloading?
The best way to describe Yik Yak is as a completely nameless twitter feed. Posting is anonymous and the only thing revealed about the poster is their location, a feature that is extremely accurate (you can see where on campus they’re submitting from) and which can be disabled. Posts can either be “upliked” or “downliked” and users can comment on posts.
After a certain amount of “downlikes”, a post is reported and is no longer displayed on the feed. There are two timelines on Yik Yak, “Most Recent” and “Hot”, and the “Hot” page displays the most “upvoted” posts in the area.
Largely popular at southern universities, Yik Yak has picked up interest at both Saint Mary’s at Notre Dame in the past few weeks.
The app, originally intended as a message board at colleges for anyone within 1.5 miles of campus, came under backlash earlier this month after middle school and high school students were logging on near college campuses and cyber bullying. The creators quickly put restrictions on the app, and if the app detects that you are near a middle school or high school, it disables reading and posting.
So far I’m having a hard time figuring out if this app will be useful and whether or not it will pick up popularity across the campuses. Schools where Yik Yak is more popular use the site mainly as a place for posting jokes and poking fun of greek life, but it is also used to notify people when cops bust parties or where parties are happening.
Since the SMC/ND community isn’t as large as many of the state schools with the app, it’s a lot harder to find it as useful. So far, the page has a bunch of posts poking fun of people and dorms, but posts can quickly get offensive. Some have called it “The Burn Book of 2014”. Hopefully, being the mature college students we are, posts that are offensive or attack someone/a group of people will get reported and the app will be used for light-hearted jokes.
The app has the potential to gain popularity, but with the summer approaching, it may die out since students won’t be able to log on at home. Only time will tell if the app will become the next best (worst?) thing, but for now, download it and Yik Yak away.
Photo provided by the author