Editorial: Anonymous platforms for cyberbullies hurt our kids

YIK Yak. It sounds benign, if a little childish. But this smartphone app is causing concern across the world.

The app works on a geographic basis, like a giant message board. It allows students to post comments anonymously, and only those within a 16km radius can see what's happening.

They can then "up vote" or "down vote" comments. If a comment, or "yak", gets many upvotes, it gets a high score, rewarding the user with "yakarma". Messages can also be commented on, starting a thread of conversation.

It promises a place where you can "share your thoughts and keep your privacy" - via a social media network.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist, or a programmer for that matter, to figure out that "sharing thoughts" and "anonymous" are a bad combination.

The app is under fire for providing bullies with a way to attack people. Several media outlets have called for it to be banned; the Huffington Post says it is "useless"; according to the New York Times it is a "virtual bathroom wall".

The anonymity it affords users ensures that it is an ideal environment for bullying. Schools such as Mount Maunganui College are banning it.

Principal Russell Gordon says the app can be used for the wrong reasons.

Te Puke High School deputy principal David Crone has also banned it after encountering several cases of bullying related to the app.

In Auckland, Diocesan School for Girls and Takapuna Grammar have also blocked Yik Yak within their school networks.

Diocesan School for Girls also warned parents of its dangers through newsletters and information programmes.

The school's advice to students - "We teach them the values you have as a person should be the values you have online" - is sound advice for anyone who uses the internet.

As other commenters have pointed out, Facebook comments can be full of outrage and abuse as online arguments spiral out of control. Twitter is often a battleground of furious mob justice as people dare to have opinions outside the accepted lines.

Overseas, Yik Yak has responded to criticism about bullying and harassment by geoblocking high schools, preventing students on site using the app.

TechCrunch reported the app had now "fenced" 100,000 schools in the US and it was "still one of the first steps the company takes as it moves into new countries".

It had not blocked high school areas in New Zealand, however.

It is good to see the company has taken some action in response to the criticism but more needs to be done here.

Perhaps though we are not giving young people enough credit on this one - they appear to be more discerning than we think.

The mobile app already appears to be falling out of favour with teens.

Year 11 students of Mount Maunganui College who spoke to the Bay of Plenty Times this week said the app's popularity was fading fast.

It usually held user interest for about four days before "it got boring," one said.

Student Heidi Phillips said the hype was around "people talking about other people".

"People stopped talking and it just got boring", she said.

Hopefully more teens will follow their example and ignore platforms used by cyberbullies.