Aleya Ericson | rawr reviews
According to posts to Yik Yak, an anonymous social media app, those of us who didn’t go Greek are missing out.
Yik Yak functions as a giant anonymous bulletin board much akin to Twitter. Users vote the posts or “yaks” up or down by clicking on arrows next to the yak.
What has made the app so widely popular on college campuses is that yaks are sorted by location and there is even an option to sort yaks by college.
Since Yik Yak was specifically designed for college students, the emphasis on location makes sense. However, major negative points to Yik Yak for providing a sorting option to view all of Boise State University’s yaks before UI’s.
Overall the app is intuitive and easy to use. The simplistic design of having to tap one of four main tabs to access different functions appeals to even the most technologically challenged of us.
The main Achilles’ heel of Yik Yak is that one of the apps’ options negates the apps key feature of anonymity. The problem lies in that the app keeps track of all of your yaks in an option called “My Yaks.”
While that allows users to see the responses to their yaks days after they were posted, it also means that anyone who has access to the phone — that is not the original poster — can see the thoughts that the user deemed worthy of anonymity. Due to the prevalence of phone stealing, the opportunity for people to click on Yik Yak and access one person’s secret thoughts will prove to be a bit too much.
Another problem with Yik Yak is not the design, but the users.
The concept of an anonymous social media site could be liberating and fun, with the opportunity to express new ideas. Instead, many people use Yik Yak as the outlet to vomit whatever vile, profane thoughts come into their heads.
A special nod to the Greek community for this aspect, since it seems most yaks involve Greeks drinking, having sex or hating on other houses. I assume that those who make these posts don’t represent every house or Greek member, but it’s kind of sad to see some people work hard to uphold every negative Greek stereotype with pride.
It is also hard to believe posts on Yik Yak will ever stay completely private. Numerous apps that have claimed to protect user privacy have had various bugs that could have resulted in privacy leaks. I find it hard to believe Yik Yak, whose app requirements include the device’s location.
Yik Yak is the ideal app to cater to a college community and a person’s inner voyeur. The problem is those who use the app will probably drive others away with their dark, hateful thoughts. Using Yik Yak serves as a reminder that ignorance really is bliss when it comes to seeing other’s thoughts.