Yik Yak is an app designed for people to connect with others around them in a five mile radius. Every post is anonymous and only requires a phone number to be presented in order to log into the app. Users have the option to upvote or downvote and comment on each post presented to them. 

For most users, the app is a place to post funny thoughts or ask questions, maybe for homework or out of pure curiosity; however, some users use the anonymity to make mean comments about people or inappropriate posts without fear of getting caught. This can cause the app to turn into a problem very quickly especially for schools. 

Yik Yak is not a new app seen making its way through the halls of Fredericksburg High School. Its first appearance was in 2013, where it caused tension and conflicts throughout the school, ultimately leading to the downfall of the app at FHS and the app as a whole. Now in 2021, Yik Yak, Inc. has launched a newer and supposedly better version of the app that has once again taken over the social lives of students at FHS and elsewhere. 

The app started out calm and normal at first with only a few students posting here or there about random observations or conversations overheard at school. More students joined as the app grew popular with the comedic anonymity of posts and comments about FHS’s social life. However, the more popularity it gained, the worse the posts became. Recently, there has been an increase in gossip and hurtful comments made by anonymous students about other students at FHS. 

At first, calling people out on the app was humorous and most students didn’t take anything too seriously until the subjects of the gossip were repeatedly being brought up among the other posts. Most of the time, the posts about someone were jokes made by their friends, but other students took the jokes and turned them into rumors. Whether the rumors were true or not, students on the app upvoted or commented their opinions on the gossip causing more gossip and rumors to be spread. 

Recently, the posts and comments have caused trouble for students who are mentioned repeatedly on the app which has caused parents to bring the issues to the attention of our school’s principals. Thus, administrators have spoken with students that have been mentioned on the app and are continuing to encourage students to be kinder or delete the app completely. The encouragement has seemed to work so far as less and less students have been active on the app, and the rumors have subsided a bit.

Apps like Yik Yak will continue to pop up and influence the lives of students at FHS every year. It is up to the students to choose whether to use these new social media platforms to spread kindness and comedy or use them to be hateful and cause problems for each other.