Reviving the Yak

By: Adam Ide, Staff Writer

Ask anyone on campus and you and more than likely they have at least heard of Yik Yak, the anonymous social media platform that connects you with all users in a five mile radius. The app was banned in most school settings years ago due to inappropriate usage and mental health concerns. The anonymous nature of the app makes it easy to say anything about anyone with virtually no repercussions. This opened the door to cyber bullying which harmed the victims even more than normal since they had no way to see who was attacking them. 

However, Yik Yak has relaunched its platform with more stringent guidelines that discourage people from bullying of any form, as well as protecting users personal information. Since their relaunch the app has become popular among the college community. The usage of the app has spiked in the past month or so. Worcester is the perfect place for a platform like Yik Yak, holding six colleges within a five mile radius.

Some are still concerned about the mental health issues that the app can cause, especially considering the current mental health crisis facing college aged students. 

One user, identifiable by the honey pot emoji, said that they “feel like a lot of people post very sad yaks because they don’t feel comfortable going to those they’re close to about their feelings.”

Due to the apps history it may be contributing to poor mental health. On the other hand, Yik Yak is also providing a platform for those who feel as though they are without a voice and are too afraid to go to the people close to them with their negative thoughts.  These concerns are valid but many students seem to think that the apps return is having an overall positive effect.

One user, identifiable by the panda emoji, said that the app is “a good way to bring the community together through common experiences and inside jokes that only people in the area would understand.”

Through Yik Yak all the colleges int the Worcester area are pulled together and can all share in one big community. This allows them to vent and relate t one another and maybe even find others with common interests.

Both points of view provide pros and cons that have existence since the creation of the platform and do not seem to be changing anytime soon. No matter how you feel about the renewed app it is certainly sweeping across campus, making it very apparent that Yik Yak is back.