About YikYak
The app Yik Yak was created in 2013 by Tyler Droll and Brooks Buffington. The duo came up with the idea when they were put together for a project in a class they shared. YikYak has become increasingly popular for high school and college students as it allows people to post what they want to. The app reached its peak popularity back in 2014 and according to TechCrunch, it was valued at around $400 million.
Despite the app being popular amongst kids, it promoted bullying with its users. Since posts are anonymous, users would post things about other people making fun of them. With the rise of bullying, many people stopped using YikYak and it shut down in 2017. The app drew serious hate due to the bullying on the app.
Functions of App
Yik Yak allows anonymous users to post what they want and it is seen by anyone in a five-mile radius. When a post is made some features allow people to upvote, downvote and comment on posts that are made. The more people upvote a post, the more people see it. Also, if a post gets five downvotes it is permanently deleted.
Limitations
There are several limitations with Yik Yak mostly with its downvote policy. The app promotes free speech however, it limits users’ free speech policy with posts getting taken down after five downvotes. If someone posts a message trying to spread information about a topic and people disagree with it they can just downvote it and it will be taken down. Although the app wants users to have free speech, they cannot if people disagree with what they are saying. The policy of just five downvotes contradicts the app’s message of free speech.
History
After shutting down in 2017, Yikyak relaunched its app in 2021 with a renewed focus to eliminate hate speech and bullying on its app. The app has now put forth community guidelines that do not allow bullying messages, hate speech or any threats toward people. YikYak also limits people from posting personal information on the app which limits bullying or other incidents that could occur. In addition to those changes, they have created a one-strike policy that will delete users’ accounts if they violate the community guidelines.
Recommendations
I recommend YikYak for anyone that likes to understand more about what their community thinks as you can see what people are posting within a five-mile radius of you. It also allows you to become a better citizen as you have an increased knowledge of things going on in your community.
The best use of YikYak is to just gauge what people around you are posting and to become a more active member of your community. Although all posts are anonymous you still get a feeling like you are a part of a community.
Works Cited
Vogt, H., Baxter, D., Triana, J. A., Brown, T., Aiello, J., Cirino, A., & McCaffery, A. (2021, October 11). Be careful what you post on yik yak. The Daily Orange. Retrieved February 12, 2022, from https://dailyorange.com/2021/10/careful-post-yik-yak/
Safronova, V. (2017, May 27). The rise and fall of Yik Yak, the anonymous messaging app. The New York Times. Retrieved February 12, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/27/style/yik-yak-bullying-mary-washington.html
Perry, J. (2021, October 5). Students return to Yik Yak following the Anonymous Social App’s relaunch. The Daily Northwestern. Retrieved February 12, 2022, from https://dailynorthwestern.com/2021/10/05/campus/students-return-to-yik-yak-following-the-anonymous-social-apps-relaunch/