Everyday I open YikYak to either semi-entertaining jokes or a surface-level political debate, with both achieving nothing of substance.
I was surprised when I first discovered that YikYak had a large presence on Colgate University’s campus, along with thousands of other campuses nationwide. I vaguely remember hearing about YikYak when I was younger and thinking that it was an ancient app because it was treated as such, with people referencing the nostalgia they felt over the app.
Evidently, the app had a revival. Created by two students at Furman University in 2013, its fall from grace came in April 2017 after only four years of existence, because of a series of posts that promoted harmful cyberbullying and racist threats. The app then revamped in 2021 with changes including new “community guardrails” — preventative measures against bullying, threats and exposing private information.
As a location-based, anonymous message-posting app that works via a system of upvoting or downvoting a post, the main posts we see appear to be those of campus members — possibly even your own next-door neighbors. Ideally, the app should work as a light-hearted way of sharing jokes, news or confessions; yet, I have found that Colgate’s YikYak is ultimately a place where people flock to hide behind a screen while posting thoughts that inspire and generate negative perceptions of different communities on campus, making the app overrated as well as outdated. In my opinion, it should’ve been left in the past.
While the internet is a big fan of anonymity because of the potential to engage in online communities without fear of real-world consequences, this is also exactly why it is so harmful. Creating a platform centered around being able to share what you think — without anyone knowing who you are — becomes a breeding ground for toxicity. When users aren’t tied to a name, profile or any form of identity, there’s no real incentive to be respectful or kind. People are removed from any positive moral reinforcements, such as empathy and accountability. Suddenly, it becomes easy to mock someone’s appearance, post cruel jokes, spread false rumors or make serious accusations without a second thought. While there are supposed to be strict restrictions, such as not being allowed to say someone’s full name, it is easy to bypass them. All too often, I scroll past a YikYak that is alluding to a person or group of people through emojis or code names.
The worst part of these posts is that they are rewarded. People are conditioned to continue making their mean-spirited comments because of the upvote system on YikYak. YikYak creates a digital reward system that trains users to prioritize attention over decency. This kind of reinforcement is especially dangerous in our Colgate student community, where social dynamics are already intense and, to me, the campus feels divided at times. Once one person gets validation for being toxic, others could join in for that same attention.
On top of this, the way posts are voted on fosters an environment that is the perfect breeding ground for groupthink to thrive. This occurs when individuals conform to the dominant opinion of a group, even if it is incorrect or contrary to their better judgment, to blend in or avoid standing out. When a post gains traction, it gets easier for others to join in, piling on with comments or upvotes because “everyone else is doing it.” As a result, YikYak might discourage critical thinking and respectful disagreement. With only 3,000 students, YikYak acts as a game of telephone, where everyone knows who the post is about, but the message being broadcast becomes distorted because everyone is posting messages that are just vague enough to be twisted.
Social media has changed. I believe that the main point of social media has become expressing identity, engagement and creativity. Scrolling through anonymous comments should not be the norm anymore, especially on Colgate’s small and isolated campus. We should work towards creating communities with actual stories and value. Colgate’s YikYak is filled with surface level opinions that negate genuine interaction from being fostered on campus. Instead of people talking out their problems, they turn to YikYak to complain about one another, removing the human quality of interaction.
While it may not seem that impactful to campus life, YikYak can have deeply personal consequences. Although it may seem like harmless fun, the long-term implications are real: damaged reputations and fractured campus communities. YikYak belongs to a version of the internet we should’ve outgrown by now – it’s time to move on.
