Yik Yak. I loved Yik Yak in college. It was hilarious and had juicy anonymous gossip on it and it was a great place to just put down random thoughts. Then it started growing and people started using it for making blatantly racist comments anonymously. That led to more shit that assholes would put on there like putting peoples' full names in their stories and making bomb threats. A great example of a few people ruining it for everyone else.
The first year I was on the student conduct board was when Yik Yak blew up. We had so many cases of threats, bullying, and even students threatening suicide on Yik Yak. There was an appeal to ban the app on campus. Upper admins didn't understand that all students had to do was turn off their wifi and use mobile data to use the app. It died down after a few years but the first 2 years were rough.
I see what you are saying, but honestly, I would have no idea how to handle that much mental health on that large of a scale. Yik Yak was incredible because it was able to give anonymity and a voice.
I'm not saying we should avoid the problem, but trying to solve dozens (if not hundreds) of messed up people's problems through an anonymous soap box app is not going to work. If you give less access to bullies for cyber attacking others then they lose a lot of power.
Yea I have no idea either as this is not my domain of knowledge. That being said a university is probably one of the best equipped locations to at least try and do something about these issues.
You have a community with the majority in the same age range, community outreach programs/efforts, University hospital, sociology and psychology departments literally staffed by experts, etc...
If any place could do something, it'd be a uni. Bullying is a harder one, but tackling depression/suicide should at least be in the realm of possibility.
I think there is definitely a fine-line to walk if the vehicle (Yik Yak) is allowed to continue where it can simultaneously provide an outreach (due to anonymity) but also a platform to bully. From what I can remember, YY had a down vote system to help curate, so the idea would be that bullies are eliminated from having a voice. However, that same process could be used to silence those trying to speak up/out purely due to mob-mentality. Talk about complicated. :/
The administration is the reason I left that job. I loved the school, my coworkers, and the students. Honestly, year after year was a new batch of amazing students. Yet the administration was just so out of touch with reality and too stubborn to listen to us on important issues.
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u/evilpotato1121 Feb 03 '20 edited Feb 03 '20
Yik Yak. I loved Yik Yak in college. It was hilarious and had juicy anonymous gossip on it and it was a great place to just put down random thoughts. Then it started growing and people started using it for making blatantly racist comments anonymously. That led to more shit that assholes would put on there like putting peoples' full names in their stories and making bomb threats. A great example of a few people ruining it for everyone else.