I

t never hurts to remind
yourself to think before you
speak. And in the case of the

21st century,
it’s equally
important
to think
before you
post on social
media. Yik Yak, in particular,
adds a whole new layer to social
media responsibility, where self-
monitoring becomes even more
crucial. Through the anonymity
provided by Yik Yak, posters to
the app have more freedom to say
what they want.

Launched in 2013, Yik Yak is

an app for iPhones and Androids
primarily aimed at and used
by college students. Users can
see, comment and like or dislike
any posts on the app (known as
“Yaks”) that are within a 10 mile
radius of the user’s location. The
intent is for students to see Yaks
in relation to their respective col-
lege. While this app can provide
a space for comedy and solidar-
ity with other students who took
the same test or who also sat in
their room alone on Valentine’s
Day, there’s a darker side to these
anonymous posts.

During the 21st century, soci-

ety faces a unique problem, where
social networking and media
apps can inflict significant harm,
even if they mean well. Before I
go further, I want to stress that
my point is not to judge Yakkers.
This is not intended to be a rant
about the horrors of social media.
In fact, many times Yaks have
made me laugh when I’ve had a
bad day, or there has been a Yak
that resonated with me. After the
earthquake in Nepal this year,
Yik Yak spread the word about
how to help aid recovery, so apps
like these even promote good
causes. As revered an app as it
is, we cannot ignore the flaws
and continue to use it as a place
where we don’t have to monitor
our thoughts, because our words
really do make an impact on
those around us.

On the one hand, there are

funny comments on Yik Yak that
many people can identify with:
“When the elevator’s empty and
there’s no one to judge me for

using it to go up one floor.” When
something happens on campus,
many people take to Yik Yak to
joke about it. During the night of
the four consecutive fire alarms in
East Quad, the stream of Yaks was
endless. One said, “If someone is
trying to discretely smoke weed
in their room at East Quad, please
stop trying because it’s obviously
not working.” Others said things
like “EQ: 4 RESIDENTS: 0.” And
in large part, Yak streams are
funny in these ways.

That being said, given the

complete anonymity that the app
allows, there’s a less than positive
side to this social media phenom-
enon. Scrolling through posts, I
have seen sexist, racist and hurt-
ful comments. Comments, such as
“girls are way hotter at the gym,”
— a Yak posted at the University
of Michigan — objectify women,
placing the focus, yet again, on
the value of women in their out-
ward appearances. Students take
to Yik Yak to rail on their room-
mates, annoying people in the
UgLi or someone they overhear
saying something they think is
stupid, perpetuating a culture of
passive-aggressiveness and put-
downs. Not to mention, many of
these students who end up on Yik
Yak likely use the app and would
be hurt by these comments.

Yik Yak has also been used

to bully people. In March 2014,
a 17-year-old girl organized a
campaign and a petition at her
high school after Yaks about
her depression appeared on the
site. Taking to Yik Yak to speak
about someone’s mental illness
in this way is bullying and com-
pletely unacceptable.

Then, in October 2014, through

Yik Yak, students at Rowan Uni-
versity spread the word about
an illegal sex tape that had been
filmed without the subject’s con-
sent. Misogynistic and homopho-
bic comments have also spread
throughout Yik Yak in colleges,
such as Colgate College and Uni-
versity of Texas, among many
others. A professor at Eastern
Michigan University was ready
to take legal action, after stu-
dents in her class posted sexu-
ally explicit things about her on
Yik Yak. Recently, there was a

Yak that proposed a gang rape at
Kenyon College’s women’s cen-
ter. At the University, one Yak-
ker posted, “Why wouldn’t I be
pro gay marriage? They leave
more women for me to fuck. Sup-
ply and demand baby.” These are
just a few examples of the prob-
lematic posts that are becoming


increasingly evident.

Given the problems Yik Yak

brings up, changes must be
made to ensure that this app
holds users more accountable.
Although the creators of Yik Yak
have taken commendable mea-
sures to ensure that the content
on Yik Yak is appropriate, there
are significant gaps, and mea-
sures could be taken a step fur-
ther. Unless there is a “specific,
actionable threat,” Yik Yak holds
fast to user anonymity. Thus,
holding users accountable for
non-actionable threats that may
otherwise slip under the radar is
important. For example, rework-
ing the report tool so that when
someone reports a post, the Yak
disappears until it is reviewed
would help. Currently, there is
a warning when certain words
such as “Jewish” and “bomb”
are inserted into a Yak, and that
warning should be extended to
other words and phrases. Auto-
matically banning users who post
multiple Yaks that break the rules
could also help mitigate the prob-
lem. If someone’s Yak is taken
down because it broke the rules,
that Yakker should be notified.
Providing posters with an under-
standing of why their post was
taken down allows them to think
about what they post and may
inform them next time. Finally,
and most importantly, users need
to act. If we cannot create a bet-
ter environment around Yik Yak,
these systematic changes won’t
do much difference. We have to
ask ourselves: would I be com-
fortable posting this if it weren’t
anonymous, or would it offend or
hurt someone? Yik Yak shouldn’t
become a place to put down rac-
ist, sexist, bullying or otherwise
hurtful comments.

Think before you post.

— Anna Polumbo-Levy can be
reached at annapl@umich.edu.

The problem with Yik Yak

5

Thursday, May 7, 2015

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com OPINION

ANNA
POLUMBO-
LEVY

those at Hopkins and at univer-
sities in the surrounding area:
“Things
like
‘black
students

wouldn’t have gotten in if it
weren’t for affirmative action’
attacking the black students who
were involved in protests earlier
in the year.” She
mentioned how this
made her feel iso-
lated at her
own institution.

Ronald J. Daniels,

president of John
Hopkins University,
issued a statement
concerning Freddie
Gray’s death and the
Baltimore protests:
“It is essential that
all of our city’s citizens have trust
and confidence in professional and
fair treatment by our police...We
also recognize, and must acknowl-
edge, the frustration felt in com-
munities across this country, born
of continuing racial disparities
in education, employment, and


criminal justice.”

Ketema
still
felt
Hopkins

could have been more active in
response to the events in relation
to its students.

“I didn’t feel like the Univer-

sity did much to communicate to
the students,” she said. “There
were some last minute attempts
to create a safe space like meet-
ing yesterday, but other than that
we haven’t gotten much from the


University itself.”

Braxton spoke on the lack of

political and social awareness of
the general Hopkins campus, but
also saw some positives.

“There are a lot of students that

are not African American that
went to the protests and gathered
around realizing the importance
of the solidarity,” he said.

When responding to the situ-

ation, President Barack Obama

stated
it’s
impor-
tant
that we
“don’t
just pay
atten-
tion
to

these
commu-
nities
when

a CVS burns,” but the economic
inequality, school climate and
police brutality in Baltimore have
been continuously overlooked.

This may be the first time Bal-

timore is being highlighted on a
national level for the areas with
residents that are disadvantaged
due to systematic problems, but
that doesn’t mean that it ends
here. The issues of police bru-
tality, poverty and institutional-
ized racism are linked in many
places across America, including
Detroit, and these are problems
that are persistent throughout
the year. We cannot ignore these
problems until another Trayvon
Martin, Eric Garner or Freddie
Gray is killed.

We must say to ourselves:


Never again.

— Rabab Jafri can be reached

at rfjafri@umich.edu




— Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said at a Las Vegas high

school as she gave her stance on immigration.

“

NOTABLE QUOTABLE

I will fight for comprehen-
sive immigration reform
and a path to citizenship
for you and for families

across our country.”

CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION

Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor and viewpoints.

Send the writer’s full name and University affiliation to melikaye@umich.edu

The issues of police

brutality, poverty and

institutionalized racism

are linked in many places

across America