“The SJU Yik Yak Attack”
The latest form of social media, Yik Yak, has gone viral in colleges across the country. This social media app allows you to post and read a live feed of what anonymous people around you are thinking. Since one’s identity is hidden users are able to post without feeling responsible for what they write. To get a better feel for Yik Yak, I decided to download it. Since then, I have been in shock with what’s being said on the app.
I initially thought that Yik Yak was a fun and entertaining form of social media, but after reading just a few posts I realized there are several malicious posts about other students. My conclusions from this experience have not been encouraging in regards to my thoughts on SJU’s student body.
I know I am not the only one who feels this way about Yik Yak, so I decided to talk to a variety of SJU students to get his or her opinion on the app.
“I don’t like that Yik Yak is anonymous. It’s hurtful. People shouldn’t be allowed to get away with this anonymously. It’s cyber bullying.” –A D1 athlete here at SJU who was also a victim of having something fallacious posted about him in the live feed.
“I think it’s very insensitive. People are using it to hide saying what they actually want to say to peoples faces, but are too scared.” –A sorority sister here at our school.
“I think Yik Yak is a bad social network because people can be very mean due to the anonymity aspect. Students post really strange things that are stupid and even vile sometimes.” –A freshman here at SJU.
Even though these students’ backgrounds, involvements, and ages here at St. Joe’s differ, they all share the common belief that Yik Yak is ultimately mean and a negative form of social media. This poses the question: if most students here disagree with the ethics behind the app, then why is this form of “cyber bullying” still going on?
I have to admit, this past week I wanted to post about something that bothered me. Seeing how everyone is so involved in this app made me feel like I wanted to get involved too. I’m just glad it made me aware of how anonymity can be powerful but hurtful.
Next time you are having a bad day or don’t like what someone is wearing, remember to think twice before posting it to a feed like yick yack. You may be an anonymous author, but it’s still can be offensive to readers.