Thursday, throughout Staples, students were huddled around their phones updating their friends on the latest comments from the app that had gone viral within minutes: Yik Yak, the newest anonymous social media trend.
Students’ reactions were varied.
Many compared the app to a social networking version of the burn book, featured in the movie Mean Girls, that contained rumors and comments about girls around the school.
“It’s like a real-life Gossip Girl. I don’t like the app, I think it’s hilarious,” said an anonymous student. “Some comments are uncalled for, but others are funny, and you can tell they’re a joke,”
Other students shared their opinion through their Facebook statuses. Sofia Weinberg ’15, who found out about the app via Principal John Dodig’s announcement on Thursday afternoon, said she was initially was in complete shock and disgust after reading the posts from her friend’s phone.
“Out of all of the great things you could be doing with your life, why do you choose to bring others down? Because it’s anonymous? Because you think it’s ‘cool’?” Weinberg posted as her status Thursday night.
Jacob Nadel ’15, who said he believed Staples was a “warmer, more welcoming environment,” described a changed opinion after hearing about Yik Yak. Nadel also posted a Facebook status.
“We all have emotions. We are all people. No one in Staples, or anywhere, deserves to get treated this way. Do the right thing,”
Although sending and reading messages was disabled at school Thursday night, according to students the app is still sometimes accessible at the front lobby and in the library.
“I think disabling the app in school will decrease the chances of people making rude and inappropriate comments about their peers,” Gia Marone ’15 said.
Another anonymous student who refuses to download the app agrees the majority of the posts are hurtful and no one deserves to be trashed, no matter how badly they treat other people.
“This app truly proves the power of the Internet and how quickly something can viral. It’s crazy that at 9:30 am the idea of the app was buzzing around school, and then by 1:30, almost everyone had downloaded it.” said the anonymous student. “The posts may disappear after an hour, but the Internet is forever; anonymity is powerful.”
