Stop your yaking already

This archived article was written by: Josie Sue Slade

Social media keeps gaining more attention as each year passes. More apps and sites pop up with the intention of connecting people to each other. The idea behind social media is fantastic, the problem though is that people use social media as an excuse to bully and write stupid things. There is a new fad that is fueling the bullying, anonymous posting.
Apps such as PostSecret, Whisper and Yik-Yak are the rage right now. The one app that has swept across USU Eastern’s campus is Yik-Yak. It is an anonymous social media app designed for sharing posts with people in close proximity to you (1.5 mile radius). The intention is to make the posts more personal to you while keeping you and others anonymous from each other.
The results are disastrous. Behind the mask of anonymity people are free to say anything they want and aren’t forced to face consequences. While the app does have rules in place and the yaks are monitored in order to get rid of anything considered inappropriate; posts slip through the cracks and hurtful words are posted for everyone to read.
I was on the app for an hour before I got disgusted and deleted it. In one hour, I read more hateful and disturbing posts than I had in an entire week on Facebook. There were specific groups on USU Eastern’s campus who were being targeted and it made me sick to my stomach to read. When did it become okay to harass anybody?
The yak’s student posts are tasteless and deal with anything ranging from hooking up to students they dislike. Rarely is a yak worth anybody’s attention posted and when it is, people down vote it and post rude comments in response. In reality, Yik-Yak is not worth anybody’s time or energy.
We face negativity every day, so why would we seek out more on an app that follows us everywhere? If you have Yik-Yak on your phone, you’re allowing something negative to follow you around all day. For once let’s stop with the negativity and get rid of Yik-Yak before it becomes a catastrophe.