Jessika Vandivier The Paw Print
ASU went live last week when a new smart phone application by the name of Yik Yak made its appearance on campus. This app allows students to enter into a chat room that consists of people within their area. Accomplished by turning the GPS option to “on” in your phone, students connect with others at the university they attend. What makes this app so appealing to users? Every post is completely anonymous. No one call tell who is posting what.The description of the app on the app store wall states that Yik Yak is meant to be used as a bulletin board that shows posts and event updates from the people in your area. The text reads, “News, funny experiences, shout outs, and jokes spread faster than ever through Yik Yak’s tight knit community.” In theory, this sounds like a very practical app for college students to use. However, that was the exact opposite of what happened here at Adams State. Upon downloading the app last Monday, it was clear that Yik Yak had some definite flaws. Content included vulgar comments, racist remarks, inappropriate language, sexual references, and probably the worst of all, fellow students being publicly talked about, humiliated, and bullied.
In an interview with one of the people personally talked about on the app, the question was asked; how did it make you feel to read all of the negative comments that people were saying to you? In response this person said, “I felt like crap. I can’t trust people to say what they need to say face-to-face, they have to post in secret.”
Another ASU student whose name appeared on Yik Yak said, “In a way, I definitely feel harassed. Someone posted about my personal business and then everyone else started posting horrible comments. There was nothing I could do to stop it.”
Adams State is not the only campus having trouble with this phone app. Schools all across the country are having problems. A couple examples include: a student from Colgate University in New York partook in a three day protest due to racist comments posted on the Yik Yak wall in his area.Another college student from Mississippi was arrested after posting a threatening comment, “The red will flow.”
This man faces five years in prison if courts find him guilty.Towards the end of last week, the posts seemed to calm down and the content became more focused around funny thoughts and party invites. Hopefully the buzz has died down and Yik Yak will no longer be a social issue for students here at Adams State.
What’s Been Said…