REVISED: The Face of Bullying has changed- Sam Tiefermann

 
 
With the invention of social media, most people realize that there would be some negative effects from it. One of which, in the past decade has become a fairly big topic, cyberbullying. Kids and adults alike are able to say what they will from behind a computer screen. Some would claim that because of this new form of bullying has led to more school shootings and other horrific events.

What most people don't know about this issue is that the face of bullying has changed once again. With the newest forms of social media that allow users to be anonymous like Yik Yak, allow for nasty things to be said to one another without consequence.

The latest craze in social media is Yik Yak. It allows users to post whatever they want anonymously to an "online bulletin board." Other users within 10 miles can see whatever is put up. Already, this seems like a bad idea giving kids the ability to say whatever they want about someone anonymously.

Lets say that high school student #1 doesn't liker high school student #2 and student #1 posts that student #2 has some sort of STD. Despite it being a rumor, everyone in the school can see that the second it gets posted. These kind of events can ruin the reputation of any student which in high school is all that matters.

In one particular case, a school in Pennsylvania had to get police involved in order to find who posted some nasty things about their students. The school went so far as to sending home emails for parents to check their child's phone to see what they posted. All of this information can be found through this article: http://levittownnow.com/2014/10/30/neshaminy-high-school-faces-problems-with-anonymous-yik-yak-app/

Personally, I do not believe the creators of the app are doing enough to keep this new anonymous bullying under control. They allow for other peers to take control by down voting or reporting posts however, how often to students step up. If problems like the one in Pennsylvania are happening all over the US, then obviously the students are not doing their job and someone needs to step up. If nothing gets done to solve this problem then I would say that Yik Yak's creators are truly money crazed inventors with no goal but to build more wealth.

Bullying is not the only major issue I have with Yik Yak. This "social bulletin board" has been used by criminals and terrorists alike to spread their message. There have been plenty of threats to schools and other public places that have been sent through Yik Yak. Reports of shooting and bombing threats are all over the internet. It's an epidemic! According to the official Yik Yak website, the only thing they can do to identify someone is record the IP address, GPS coordinates, and time and date. When a threat is posted police officials are required to email Yik Yak regarding this important information. The system in which Yik Yak relays information to law enforcement is simply outdated.


One thing to note with Yik Yak is that it really doesn't have a positive side aside from a minor entertainment factor. It doesn't allow for networking because of it's anonymity. It doesn't allow you to share pictures with anyone. There is no positive reason for Yik Yak to be around. Most of what gets put on Yik Yak is pointless stuff anyway. It makes people unproductive and allows for anyone to cyber bully through anonymity. When the negatives outweigh the positive by so much why isn't there something being done to stop bullying from changing again.

The creators of Yik Yak have told the public that they are trying to remove Yik Yak from middle and high schools. However, bullying happens everywhere. Even college campuses. I've personally seen a lot of hatred and lies spread through Louisville's Yik Yak but the difference between Yik Yak here and a high school campus is that the lies are spread about larger organizations like fraternities. One fraternity says one thing about another by being anonymous and they assume it's someone else leading to overall campus hatred. The anonymity is the problem. People say what they want, when they want, however they want when they are anonymous. Removing Anonymity will remove the problems.

As a Louisville student, problems with Yik Yak are fairly minor. However, in the grand scheme of things they are definitely evident. I dislike the University of Kentucky just as much as any other respectable U of L student should, however, when things such as "F*** UK" are posted on Yik Yak only hatred is spread. The more hatred that is spread  leads to more hatred being received.

There are so many problems with Yik Yak to be able to change it and have it be okay in my mind. I believe the only way to truly deal with a problem like this is to remove it from society completely. I realize there are some funny things posted fairly often, which is the reason why I got the app in the first place. With the use of anonymity, there is the potential for a lot of bad things to happen whether it's a suicide from online bullying or something else less severe. But if there's a possibility to change the face of bullying from anonymity to something where the person can actually be held responsible for their actions then I believe that's better for society.