Users question the declining popularity of Yik Yak.
Photo courtesy of Yik Yak.
Students at Montclair State University have taken notice of the decline of the once-popular application, Yik Yak. The social app rose to stardom fairly rapidly because Yik Yak offers an anonymous way to connect with other users of the app in the area, but the constant updates and attempts to stay relevant alongside other apps such as Snapchat and Instagram caused the app to decline in student users at Montclair State.
User @Mikepadilla asked, “Do a lot of people in our area actually use this?” In response, user @theempanada stated that people “Used to, but they kept updating it to the point where it’s stupid now.’’
Senior finance major Josue Kernizan commented on the decline saying, “The app was one of my favorite[s] back when it was simple and all about commenting anonymously. The updates started making users create a screenname and it became more and more like Twitter. The problem is that most people were only using it because no one knew who they were.”
Many apps such as Whisper and Secret have tried to replace Yik Yak as the premier anonymous messaging app, but the apps were glitchy and the marketing caused them to fail.
The biggest player in the downfall of Yik Yak could be Snapchat because it is constantly updating features, rather than its actual infrastructure. It has also begun sponsoring celebrities which causes more users to join and follow along with their favorite rappers and actors.
