Playing Strangers, Providing Care: An Ethnographic Study of Yik Yak at Swarthmore College
Date
2016
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Swarthmore College. Dept. of Sociology & Anthropology
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Thesis (B.A.)
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en_US
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Full copyright to this work is retained by the student author. It may only be used for non-commercial, research, and educational purposes. All other uses are restricted.
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Abstract
Yik Yak, a location-based anonymous posting app, has been accused of fostering
overwhelmingly negative interactions and abuse. The app allows users to “play” at being
strangers in their own geographically intimate community. This paper, based on research
conducted at Swarthmore College, examines the ways in which interactions on Yik Yak
extend beyond the negative, exploring the community’s use of anonymity and
construction of support networks through field study and personal accounts of app users.