Yik Yak, a social media app is giving cyber bullying a new meaning by bringing online threats to reality.
                Olivia Appel says, “I have a friend that I knew freshman year that had things that were posted about her that were so negative that she had to get local law enforcement involved because it was to such extremes.”
                Yik Yak is used within a 1.5 mile radius of college campuses where students can post anonymously.
                Seandra Cosgrove, LSU Psychology grad student says cyber bullying on social media apps is a problem.
She says, Cyber bullying can be very psychologically damaging, one study found that 93 percent of cyber bullying victims had negative psychological effects, so either depression, anxiety or hopelessness.”
Summer Steib, Director of Women’s Center on LSU’s campus says holding people accountable for cyber bullying is the best way to combat the issue on campus.
She says, “How do we encourage action from students and then how do we empower them to become active bystanders and to intervene and to shut those types of conversations down and say you know that’s not my LSU.”
                LSU student Olivia Appel knows the effects of being cyber bullied.
                She says, “I know how hard it can be to deal with these things and that Yik Yak really is a form of cyber bullying.”
                Despite the negative impacts of Yik Yak, there may be hope on LSU’s campus because advocacy groups are pleading with legislators for censorship on college campuses.