An App That's Too Honest?
There’s a new app out there that’s paving the way for bullying.
A couple days ago, I was on Facebook just scrolling down and passing the time. A friend of mine posted a picture of a speech bubble and inside that was essentially the digital version of hatemail.
With her being an artist the message essentially summed up to saying that she was a hack with no talent or future.
At the time, I didn't understand what the message was but knowing that she had a web comic I assumed it was from some hater who read her content.
Turns out, it was someone she knew.
Yes, there’s a new app out there that was released a little less than a year ago but has now reached peak popularity. The app is called Sarahah, which means honesty in Arabic.
The creator of the app is from Saudi Arabia and is named Zain al-AbidinTawfiq. Al-AbidinTawfiq says that at its creation the intention of the program was to make it so that employees could complain about work issues and give positive feedback to their boss without having to give their identity.
The way this is done is that you have to sign up for an account with the app or the website. From there you then have to share the link to your account page where people can comment. Only you can see whatever messages anonymous people leave for you, but you can also share them on social media.
The problem is that, as you would expect, this has led the way to bullying and people leaving nasty comments for others to read. (People leaving vicious comments for others on the internet? Never!)
You can find a few comments people have shared on social media down below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXqPPiqAvUJ/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXpYkEjlGXE/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXqFNj1BOps/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXqmHeYh5Cq/?tagged=sarahahapp
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXtcrNPFkes/?tagged=sarahah
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXpueK2lS6Q/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXtaD2fgYC3/?tagged=sarahahapp
Understandably, many people are worried for the increase of cyber bullying that will take place because of this app. Plus, the fact that you voluntarily sign up for these messages doesn’t stop the fact that getting digital hate mail from people you know can be extremely hurtful.
Conversely, people are also using the app to seek attention and get a lot of thirst trap praise. Which is another problem all on its own.
As such, if you do decide to register for Sarahah, know what you're potentially getting yourself into. You are opening yourself for potential attack, but you could also get an ego boost too. (Oh, and that postivie feedback thing that was originally intended for the app. That too).
Be careful out there.
