Anonymous Apps Or Cowardice Acts?

William Lopez, risk management director in the Texas Tech Center for Campus Life, is familiar with cyberbullying.

“You would think we wouldn’t be having this conversation in a college environment,” he said. “But, with anonymous phone applications all over campus, it has become a huge problem.”

“Yik Yak” is an application that serves as a local bulletin board for any smartphone user’s current location, according to the company’s website. Posts are completely anonymous, and those within five miles may interact with the bulletins.

The most downloaded of these types of anonymous applications are Yik Yak and “Whisper,” rendered by Apple and Android app store websites.

The anonymous app situation is nothing new, Lopez said. The trending apps were in different types of media during his college years.

Much like Yik Yak’s anonymous user’s posts, “Juicy Campus,” was a popular website in 2007 and 2008, Lopez said. Cyberbulling on Juicy Campus was essentially the same situation at his alma mater, Kansas State.

Tech cannot address the anonymous app predicament because it is impossible to know who is spreading rumors and defamation, Lopez said. He puts it under a category of cyberbullying, and it has changed drastically.

“We’re starting to see cyberbullying become a lot more prevalent in college than it used to be,” Lopez said. “I feel like with Facebook, Twitter, and all that, it is easy to say something that they don’t mean on social media.”

Tech has not had any specific situation fall on anyone’s desk, Lopez said. However, it is just a matter of time until a problem arises. He said he does not think the long-term effect has shown, but when the consequences do, cyberbullying will become more problematic for Tech.

Luka Ivancovich, a sophomore accounting major from Sonoma, Calif., said he has noticed the anonymous app trend.

“Yik Yak and other apps are all over campus,” Ivancovich said, shaking his head. “I even see people walking the halls on it.”

Many of his friends have had rumors spread about them on Yik Yak, Ivancovich said, and he thinks it is definitely an issue around campus.

“People can act like it doesn’t bug them, but we know it does,” Ivancovich said. “No one likes to see others talking down to them.”

People on campus who are not college students could be affected in other ways as well, Lopez said.

“Another issue is that there are a lot of minors on campus. They’re going to summer camps and what-not,” he said. “I think you’re going to start getting into issues where minors see what is on these websites and apps.”

Tech will be conducting training programs in the fall semester for organizations on campus, Lopez said. The dates have not officially been announced, but the first seminar will be bystander intervention. He said he believes accountability is the key to these problems.

Tech knows the apps are being used on campus, Lopez said. The situations the apps cause are difficult to plan for.

“The important thing is to let our students know that we’re always here, we will always support them, and if they need help, we will get them the help they need.”

Matthew Upchurch, a business graduate from Lubbock, said the apps are an invasion of privacy, which he said is happening all over campus.

“I don’t go to campus much anymore,” Upchurch said. “But, before I graduated, those things were booming. Everyone had a Yik Yak on their phone. Everyone.”

Yik Yak cited the First Amendment and operates under it, the company website’s legal section reported.

Upchurch hopes Tech can help to end the spread of rumors on campus.

“Tech should block these apps,” said Upchurch. “At some point we have to stop thinking about what people think is fair, and start thinking about what is good for people’s overall well-being.”