Yik Yak is a relatively new Social Media app released in 2013. It quickly became one of the 10 most downloaded social media apps in the country. However, some experts have called the app a breeding ground for gossip and harrassment.
Yik Yak allows it's users to write 200-character posts (similar to Twitter), do so anonymously, and respond to people within a 10-mile radius (like Tinder), making it a sort of anonymous bulletin board. The app's main target audience so far has been College campuses. Recently, students at Rowan University in New Jersey used the app to talk about a nude video involving other students, and police charged two University of Southern Mississippi students with felonies for threats made using the app. This has lead to some schools completely banning the use of the app on campuses.
So far, locally here at Arizona State University, the administration doesn't seem to care much about Yik Yak stating that they had yet to receive a complaint relating to the app.
Outside of College campuses, the app functions more like the world's most efficient bulletin board. For example, a tourist in Mexico City recently asked other app users for suggestions on the best restaurants to dine at. The app could also prove useful during huge events or crisis situations when users could get real-time updates on what's happening near them.
Time will tell whether Yik Yak is a Social media platform that is here to stay but like most other Social media apps there are always going to be those individuals who use it for sinister purposes.
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