According to a survey that was conducted with almost 600 participants, 63 percent of males use the social media app Yik Yak compared to 70 percent of females. Keene State College students explained why they choose to view these anonymous postings on Yik Yak.
The KSC print journalism students conducted an informal survey on the newly-created app, Yik Yak, where people can post anonymously about anything. Since it was launched a year ago in November of 2013, according to businessinsider.com, Yik Yak has become more and more popular with college students.
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Yikyakapp.com states that the app allows users to get a live feed of what people are saying around them. There is an up and down arrow next to each post on the app. The user can control “what’s hot” by giving a yak an “upvote” for what’s good and a “downvote” for what’s not.
“It is funny and amusing and also has new things happen around campus from a student’s perspective,” Nicole Mowat, KSC sophomore and business management major, said.
While some students said they enjoy the anonymity of Yik Yak, other students say that they have had negative experiences with the application. According to the survey, 41 percent of males post on Yik Yak, while 35 percent of females also post on Yik Yak.
“People think anonymous postings are great because it can’t be tracked back, but it is cowardly. If you have something to say, say it. If you wouldn’t say it to someone’s face, don’t say it at all. Even if it is just social media, it still hurts. I have just learned about this app this weekend, but it has a very interesting demeanor,” Katie Barnaby, KSC senior and general science and secondary education major, stated.
Senior Communication Major Ivette Garcia said, “I do think the anonymous factor helps people hide and gives them a sense of being entitled to be mean. I think Yik Yak could be such a positive thing if it was better mediated.”
On a separate note, Sean Ballard, a senior health science major, said that the Yik Yak phenomenon doesn’t have any benefit like other social networks. He explained, “Facebook, Twitter and YouTube show positive numbers and Yik Yak I feel doesn’t.”
Student Zach Joy said he enjoys reading posts because he enjoys seeing what people say for the humor. Joy was one of the few to say he posts on this app, as he explained that he posts, generally, to say something funny or to explain his opinion on some topic.
“Well, I’m in TKE and let me tell you — we all got a kick out of that fiasco [Yik Yak posts],” KSC junior and safety major Nicholas Swain said.
Film production major Brendan Kuist responded, “I don’t really have any good reason other than trying to say something clever or funny. So I suppose it falls in line with the psychology of social networking, where everybody feels good when they get the most Facebook and Instagram likes — that kind of thing.”
Three quarters of Keene State College freshmen were reported being the largest class-size users of Yik Yak. The survey showed that a majority of the students who reported using Yik Yak also said that they do not read it. Even though the Yik Yak postings are anonymous, students say that their names have been negatively used on the social media application. According to the survey, twice as many males [21 percent] said that their names have been negatively been used on Yik Yak, compared to females [9 percent] who said that their names have been negatively used on Yik Yak.
“I hate Yik Yak. It’s mean and people put out full names with offensive comments. It’s an anonymous Twitter,” KSC sophomore Lauren Romano said.
One student explained how her name has been used negatively on Yik Yak. “I have been called a bitch on Yik Yak as an RA [resident assistant],” according to Natasha Young, KSC junior and studio art major. However, almost half of the females who took the informal survey said they have been positively ‘yakked’ about.
KSC senior and psychology major, Derek Temple, who also works at the Zorn Dining Commons, said that his name was positively ‘yakked’ when a stranger mentioned him for making good omelets.
This survey was taken in a three week period between Oct. 9 and Oct. 30 of 2014 by Keene State College print journalism students. Participants included KSC students and faculty, college students from other campuses, high school students and non-students.
Claire Hickey, Joseph Barbesco, Leigh Ronan, Cyrus Lyons, Michael Prattico, and Brooke Stall also contributed to this article.
Jacob Knehr can be contacted at Jacob.Knehr@ksc.keene.edu.
Heather O’Brien can be contacted at Heather.OBrien@ksc.keene.edu
Jeffrey Lunn can be contacted at Jeffrey.Lunn@ksc.keene.edu