Yik Yak app sweeps across KU campus

By Christina Galdi

A new trend in social media is sweeping across the KU campus. The app Yik Yak emerged in late August and has been popular ever since.

Most posts are written to amuse fellow users, like funny things you might see around campus, while other posts are about the best parties to go to on the weekend.

According to the app store description, Yik Yak “acts like a local bulletin board for your area,” by showing posts from people near you. The posts are anonymous and short due to the 200-character limit. Yik Yak first came out in November 2013. It has just recently gained popularity.

KU student Tim Lind said, “You get really funny posts. Some are random but usually harmless and in good fun.”

Most people post about something funny they saw on campus. The posts are only from your area, so in Kutztown, for example, only KU students would be posting. This is another way for students to stay connected and share ideas on social media.

One student who does not share this view, David Moyer, believes the app can cause more harm than good, and that people are posting merely for the sake of having themselves heard. “Honestly, people are dumb with the things they post. It’s gotten really old.”

Moyer adds that the egocentric posting is “just immature.” He thinks that people tend to post about whatever they want simply because they can, like partying in their dorms, which is “just a stupid idea.”

Lind also commented on something that was posted on Yik Yak’s sister app, Fade, where instead of textual posts from people in your area, it posts pictures.

“Yik Yak is popular, but Fade has gotten bigger. People like to post funny pictures,” he said. Yet, the downside to the app becomes apparent in certain circumstances. According to Lind, “last week someone posted a picture of a girl having sex.”

“I didn’t want to see the picture, but when I heard about it, I thought it was disgusting,” said KU student Kate Mullen. “Who would be so sneaky to do that? It’s such a violation and I think that the picture should be removed.”