Yik Yak: How Colleges use Social Media to Spread Positivity

 Expounding upon our discussion in class today, like in the article Yik Yak Returns that we had to read for class today I would say that Yik Yak offers a more positive form of social media than negative. I have rarely ever seen Shepherd's Yik Yak spouting off hate speech or any other form of racist, sexist, or homophobic speech and in my experience if  there was the yak itself was quickly down-voted. I would argue that the anonymity of yik yak offers a safer environment for people to express their thoughts and issues than normal social media. If a person decides to bully someone that is suicidal (not cool!) they can't continue their pursuit of the victim because they don't know who the victim is.

On the other hand, I acknowledge that the anonymity can lead to people being more likely to bully because no one knows who they are so they can avoid responsibility and guilt if someone does end up hurting themselves. Social media, especially anonymous social media, is a double-edged sword and it really depends on the community and the college itself as to whether or not Yik Yak can be positive (like Shepherd) or negative (Like Colgate).