Imagine a Twitter that allows you to post whatever 200-character musings cross your mind, without any culpability attached. Your username, picture, and Twitter handle are not associated with the tweet in any way. You can say anything without any apparent consequences.
Welcome to Yik Yak, or as I like to call it, “mean Twitter.”
Yik Yak is the latest social media application. Your proximity groups messages, so the posts you see are from your very own campus, workplace, or town.
The app has enabled thousands upon thousands of cowards to write mean things about others. If there were not enough opportunities to hide behind evasive usernames and subtweets, this application makes it more than convenient.
“Spread the word to grow the herd,” reads Yik Yak’s website tagline. The application markets itself as a “community bulletin board,” perfect for sharing “news, funny experiences, shout outs, and jokes” in a “tight-knit community.”
Why you would need to be anonymous to share news and harmless jokes? The only logical reason to use such an app is to say things about others you wouldn’t have the guts to say in person, or at least with your name attached. Any humorous observations, breaking news posts, or mundane daily musings can be posted with a name attached. Detaching a username invites nastiness.
The U.S. Constitution grants the right to freedom of speech, as Yik Yak reminds users on the legal portion of its website. But it does not grant the freedom to speak without consequences.
As reported by psychologist Keith Ablow, the app has wreaked havoc in middle schools and high schools across the country. Anonymous bomb threats and serious examples of cyber bullying have cropped up since the app’s founding in December 2013. Legal action has followed, as attorneys are taking their complaints to court.
Hillsdale students have suffered the consequences of Yik Yak as well. Already, there has been name-calling about off-campus houses, sports teams, Greek organizations, and individuals. At a school as small as Hillsdale, even nameless posts are not impossible to track down.
It is sad that court cases are necessary, and that students at Hillsdale have taken part in the sort of foolishness that inspired such cases. But, of course, given the chance to participate in the crowd-minded cruelty that is Yik Yak, many will chime in.
The app has the gracious feature of allowing participants to rate the Yak as good or bad, and with enough of either “upvotes” or “downvotes,” it either will remain on the site forever or become permanently removed. But that’s not enough to keep the initial reads from hundreds of eyes.
Included in those who can see your posts are the masterminds behind Yik Yak themselves. You may think that what you post is limited to the community around you, and won’t be seen by others. Think again. Reading the website’s fine print reveals that “by submitting content through the Yik Yak service, you grant Yik Yak a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display, and distribute such content in any and all media or distribution methods.”
Think twice before you post a diss to another Greek house, or make fun of a passing student or professor. Your Yaks do have consequences.
If you don’t have anything nice to say, quit your yakking.
