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