The disease of the 21st century: word vomit. Yuck … or more like Yik Yak. Yik Yak is a new social media platform where individuals can post anonymously in location-based feeds. This smartphone app has become a major contributing factor to an increase of word vomit nationwide. This affliction rivals concerns of a zombie apocalypse; forget your flamethrowers and pitchforks and instead pick up some brown paper bags and screen protectors. Yik Yak is rampaging around our campus and needs to be reined in or altogether removed. The structure of this app fosters increased verbal abuse; as an institution that emphasizes inclusivity, we should not condone any form of cyberbullying.
Launched this past December, Yik Yak currently has an estimated 250,000 member following and is active on nearly one hundred college campuses. It is a social media platform, similar to Twitter, but entirely anonymous. It generates a feed based on a 1.5-mile radius from your current location. Students are primarily privy to anything generated on DU’s campus. You can find just about anything on there. As of Friday, May 2nd at 1:30 p.m., I learned that “ZBT sleeps in their socks,” everyone agrees “this new snapchat is absurdly complicated” and someone “spent the entire Nagel fire alarm fully erect.”
These posts, or what is now also called “yaks,” range from mildly amusing to utterly stale, yet others are not so tame. Whether the comments contain sexually-explicit, violence-oriented or conflict-generating content, many of DU’s yaks are hurtful, offensive and unacceptable. An NBC Today segment reported that there has been an explosion of cyberbullying conducted through this app from middle schools to universities. The danger of this system is the lack of accountability; nameless equals blameless.
In a Fox News article, Parry Aftab, an attorney who specializes in Internet privacy and security law, stated that in her opinion, “If people know what they’re doing is being monitored, they tend to think twice.” Therefore, Yik Yak is providing people with anonymity that, in turn, incites more inappropriate and insensitive comments. Think back to the movie “Bambi.” What did Thumper’s father tell him? “If you can’t say somethin’ nice, don’t say nothin’ at all.” Regardless of anonymity, it is critical to consider the necessity and implication of our words.
Our generation has recently, more than ever before, taken to heart one of the founding principles of the United States of America: freedom of speech. In other words, freedom to speak any and every trivial thought that flickers into the mind. Freedom to anonymously bully members of our community. Freedom to cross the line. In trying to protect individuals from personal harassment or verbal abuse we need to recognize that it is not about censorship, it is about consideration. There is, however, a community building factor to such negativity; finding mutual frustrations or “enemies” can create solidarity. One recent yak read, “Why do I even bother going to Sodexo when I’m hungover. I can’t stomach any of this s**t.” Even if you do not drink, most students could relate to the dissatisfaction with dining services. Nevertheless, most other criticism, especially when directed at individuals, can have unforeseen consequences once beyond the confines of your friend group.
There is currently a poster hanging in the Nelson Dining Hall that reads, “Words will never hurt me … ya right.” This does not lead to the conclusion that Americans need thicker skin, it is telling of our culture of criticism and an urgent need for some schooling in compassion.
I am not requesting the university ban Yik Yak; I am not demanding students delete it. I am asking students to recognize that their comments can be cruel, that objectifying people is offensive and demeaning and that there are so many reasons to highlight the positive over the negative. It is my hope that students volunteer to maintain a filter of consideration for their posts or delete the app and help DU’s community take a step towards cultivating compassion by becoming a bully-free zone.
