I may be a little too old for this app – I’ve tired it and saw it as useless and just plain dumb. But, I’ve noticed it popping up and popping up for the same reasons. The app I’m referring to is Yik Yak. Yik Yak is an app that can be considered an anonymous Twitter. It allows users in a geographic range update a short “status” or “statement” for users in that same geographic range to view.
In doing research for this blog edition I came across an NPR article that reveals how much of a commotion this app is creating. Multiple universities are having issues with students (or people who happen to be in the same location) posting threatening and hateful comments. Examples the article gives:
At Western Washington University, there were calls to lynch the black student body president.
At the University of Missouri, students threatened to shoot all black students.
These are just a couple of examples – but there are loads more. Some universities (including Emory University) have responded to student’s concerns by blocking the app on their Wi-Fi networks, but that isn’t restricting those their cell networks.
Students are calling for Yik Yak to set up a geo-fence around zip codes of their universities to block the app. This is something that is being currently put into use in middle and high schools – the workaround for that is that the app is meant for users over the age of 17.
Let me back up a bit… what is geo-fencing? Geo-fencing is a predefined set of boundaries based on location. A great example is just that of a middle or high school campus. Even some businesses use it as a form of marketing (Big Brother is watching).
Obviously, this won’t cure the issue of people being hateful towards one another. But this isn’t free speech this is hate. By eliminating one forum to “anonymously” post these comments will do the world of higher education good. But, at the same time there will always be another way for people to post hate. It is unfortunate for those who use apps such as Yik Yak for playful jokes and innocent posts. What’s the saying? A few bad apples spoils the bunch.
To read the article in it’s entity visit:
Yik Yak Tests Universities’ Defense Of Free Speech