Yik Yak is a strange app. Where else can you find anonymous posts that come from people in your area with no filter whatsoever? Yik Yak is a space where it is acceptable to post anything you want with no consequences. On the app these posts are called “yaks,” but for the clarity of this article we will be referring to the posts published on Yik Yak as “blurbs.”
For those of you who have no idea what in the world Yik Yak is, let’s break it down. The app allows users to post and view discussion threads within a five-mile radius of their location. Users can scroll through their feeds, comment on threads, or upvote and downvote the blurbs. A post with several upvotes can be put on the “HOT” page with other popular blurbs, but with the quick turnover of the app, it is rare for blurbs to be visible for more than 12 hours. Up and downvotes are counted against each other and any post that receives a net value of five downvotes is removed from everyone’s feed.
The University of Denver isn’t the only college campus where Yik Yak is surfacing again. It originated in 2013 but faded out quickly. However, after its relaunch in 2021, campuses across the U.S. have been hotspots for the app’s usage. This is because the majority of the content found in that area will be specialized for students at that college.
Most of the blurbs on Yik Yak can be divided into five different subgroups; harmful, wholesome, informative, hilarious, and out-of-pocket. Let’s take a look at each of these groups and some examples to try and answer the age-old question of social media – is this site doing more harm than good?
All social media has a light and dark side. The whole concept of social media with posts that have no filter and no attachment to a particular account seems like it would be a breeding ground for cyberbullying. While the five downvote system and ability to report blurbs may eliminate some extent of harassment on the app, the issue is still ever-present. One example is ankle girl…
Sometimes people post on Yik Yak just to share something they witnessed walking across campus or a feeling they’ve been having that others might be able to relate to. This is where a lot of the wholesome content comes into play, whether that was the intention or not.
“Crying because I miss my mom’s cooking, that woman is incredible.”
“I wish there was like Uber hugs or something ’cause I could really use that right now.”
“A goth woman in a skirt held the door open for me and my friends and I fell in love immediately.”
“Girls: be extra careful tonight and take care of each other.”
The fact that Yik Yak is catered so that you can post or view posts that occur within a five-mile radius can be an advantage. A lot of people on Yik Yak around DU eat the same food, take the same classes and walk by the same buildings you do every day. Some blurbs on Yik Yak can be helpful when it comes to other Denver students sharing useful information that you wouldn’t normally receive from DU faculty or other associated communication apps (Raftr, Crimson Connect, i.e).
For example:
“Someone’s keys with a bottle opener are on the median at Franklin and Butchell.”
“Just ate dining hall chili without considering the consequences.”
“PSA to wear waterproof mascara when it snows !!!”
“Why did they increase tuition by 5%, just stop supporting fossil fuels DU…”
One main reason people go on Yik Yak is for a laugh if they’re bored or to lighten the mood. Though most people often want credit when they tell a funny joke, there’s still a lot of quality content by mysterious comedians that can be found there.
“All the silly little boys in their silly little suits…”
“You’re a freshman. I’m a fresh man. We are not the same.”
“Lambda felt like a riot had a love child with a high school freshman.”
“Call me North Korea ’cause I just nuked the toilet.”
Unfortunately, not all the posts on Yik Yak are rainbows and unicorns. The next category that many blurbs fall into is essentially harassment. While enough downvotes might get these blurbs taken down, unfortunately, they often stay up longer than necessary. Since we don’t want to give a platform for the harmful comments of these Yakers, we won’t be including examples. But if you have spent even a few minutes scrolling, you know that this is not an unusual occurrence.
The final category is things that simply should not be said aloud. These absurd comments are mainly just out-of-pocket and leave you wondering why someone was even thinking about that.
“Like if you still pick your nose.”
“I heard they increased our tuition to pay for research to cure the hockey team’s antibiotic-resistant airborne chlamydia.”
“I just need a boy in a nurse’s costume to eat Reese’s pieces from between my toes this Halloween, is that too much to ask?”
After spending all too much time scrolling through Yik Yak to find and analyze whether it’s really worth the hype, it seems there are a few lessons to be learned. Yik Yak can be entertaining if you use it the right way and keep in mind that you are destined to run into some posts that may be disturbing. We hope that you will use this information as you wish, and if you’re gonna yak something, think twice about the content and its intention before you hit post.
