Yik Yak serves as a virtual bulletin board for people to speak their minds anonymously, said Jonathan Falk, the app’s campus representative.
Yik Yak users can compose posts and scroll through posts made by others, except, contrary to other social media, posts are anonymous because there are no usernames.
The home screen of the app is a cartoon yak.
The app sorts daily posts into two categories, “new” and “hot,” and gives users the option to “peek” at posts made at other universities.
There is also the option to read the “all-time greatest yaks” and the top yaks from a user’s area.
Although it may seem like a lot of people are using this app, Falk said only 2 percent of students are participating.
Falk helps with marketing on campus by passing out Yik Yak pens and koozies. He will also be hanging up fliers throughout campus this week.
Yik Yak connects users within a 1.5-mile radius.
Brooks Buffington and Tyler Droll, graduates of Furman University in Greenville, S.C., started Yik Yak in April 2014.
“It’s a fun way to joke around about local and relevant things with peers without having to worry about people knowing who said what,” senior Kevin Wisla said. “The anonymity of it is what keeps it enjoyable .”
Students use the app to make comments and jokes, post their thoughts and feelings, quote shows and movies and express Hoosier spirit.
Students also make comments about rival schools, such as Purdue University.
“It’s kind of like Twitter, but everyone is much funnier because people aren’t judged by what they say,” junior Sara Kate Nash said. “Every single person can connect with the app without following specific people.”
Like other social media sites, there are occasional hateful comments. Posts can be voted down by users, and posts that are deemed offensive are deleted.
“Most of the greek life comments are jokes, just people messing around with each other,” Nash said. “But it’s unnecessary to make fun of people on social media, especially anonymously. ”
