The Power of Anonymity: Generation Z's Presence on Anonymous Hyperlocal Apps
Anonymous hyperlocal social media apps, such as Jodel, Yik Yak, and Sidechat, have taken the Generation Z digital scene by storm. Born between 1997 and 2012, Generation Z (Gen Z) is often referred to collectively as “digital natives,” as many members of this generation do not remember a world before social media. In fact, many Gen Zers had a social media presence before they ever opened their own social media accounts - Gen Z’s parents posted photos, videos, and commentary about Gen Zers on social media before their kids knew what a tweet was. This early exposure to hyperconnected social networks has impacted Generation Z in numerous ways.
Generation Z’s Social Media Usage
Gen Zers are prolific users of social media. Recent surveys indicated that Gen Zers are active on some form of social media for upwards of nine hours every day. This heightened level of “connectivity” has many impacts on Gen Zers’ communication skills, extracurricular interests, mental and physical health, and stress management. Unfortunately, the effects of such heightened social media usage by Gen Zers can lead to negative outcomes in their personal lives, such as disconnect from their peers and lacking foundational interpersonal skills needed to navigate healthy relationships.
Mob Rule: “Empowered” Through Anonymous Engagement
Anonymous hyperlocal social media apps, such as Jodel, Sidechat, and Yik Yak, provide their predominantly Gen Z user base with a unique online platform to post their innermost, unedited thoughts without fear of identification. Some users view the app's “anonymity” features as an opportunity to evade accountability for their actions. As a consequence, bad actors may engage in unprofessional, unethical, and in some cases, illegal conduct on these apps. When seemingly large groups of users participate in this type of online misconduct, it may simulate mob rule against established organizations and order. This type of online activity can have extensive negative impacts on organizational culture, mission, and operations. At Becker Digital, we refer to this multi-domain phenomenon as the Digital Ripple Effect™.
In our work with colleges and universities countering the negative effects of online misconduct, we routinely hear from students, staff, and faculty that threatening content posted to anonymous hyperlocal social media apps geographically associated with the school made them question whether or not they were safe on-campus. Additionally, targeted harassment of organizational members resulted in shifts in the reported sense of belonging and inclusion at the organization. Unfortunately, many of the offices designated to address such matters, such as the Inspector General and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion departments, were ill-equipped and unprepared to provide effective mitigation related to online misconduct.
Generation Z’s Social Media Concerns
While Gen Zers share high social media usage rates with their Millennial predecessors, Gen Zers are noted as using social media very differently than Millennials (born 1980-1996). Gen Zers seek online experiences that offer higher levels of privacy than those found on traditional social media apps, such as Facebook and Instagram.
Millennials tend to utilize social media to promote their personal brand or identity by curating a “highlight reel” of their (seemingly) “amazing” life, while Gen Zers seek out social media experiences that allow them to “shitpost” without accountability for their actions. These distinct generation-based social media behaviors provide insight into what anonymous hyperlocal social media apps have recently surged in popularity among populations concentrated with Generation Z.
Additionally, Gen Zers seek out social media apps that offer ephemeral (disappearing) content, such as BeReal and Snapchat. Growing up in the era of “cancel culture,” many Gen Zers are concerned about their past online activity and engagement negatively impacting their future opportunities; thus, social media apps that offer a limited digital trail for the users are prioritized.
What’s the big deal with anonymous hyperlocal social media apps?
Increased usage of anonymous hyperlocal social media apps has presented numerous challenges for communities and organizations. Unfortunately, many users of these social media apps utlize the “anonymous” online space to post destructive and malicious online content.
Examples of types of content frequently observed on anonymous hyperlocal social media apps include:
Cyberbullying and Harassment
Hate speech (antisemitism, islamophobia, xenophobia, racism, and violent misogyny)
Spread of misinformation and disinformation
Sexual harassment and threats of sexual assault
Suicidal ideation and threats of self-harm
Threats of acts of violence, mass shootings, and other acts of terrorism
In our work at Becker Digital, we’ve observed that much of the harassing content posted to anonymous hyperlocal social media apps is often targeted specifically toward minority members of the community. Unfortunately, this type of cyberharassment on anonymous hyperlocal social media apps can quickly escalate into a spectator sport, with a small sector of the population actively posting destructive and negative content while the majority of the population looks on for a sadistic version of “entertainment.” This element of the potential for a broad audience is a key distinction between cyber vs. in-person harassment and the potential for extensive negative impacts.
Here is a briefing listing of organizations that have reported threats of violence posted to anonymous hyperlocal communities geographically affiliated with their institutions:
In some of the cases listed above, the threats of violence were focused on harming a group of people, through bombings or mass violence. In other cases, such as the murder case at the University of Mary Washington, the threats posted on an anonymous hyperlocal social media app’s public forum were specific to individuals within the community.
How Anonymous Hyperlocal Social Media Apps are Impacting Organizations
Given anonymous hyperlocal social media apps’ high concentration of Gen Z users, current usage is concentrated around organizations ins two sectors - higher education and military. When considering the average age of college students and military recruits falling within Generation Z’s age bracket, these usage trends aren’t surprising. The current usage of these anonymous social media apps can present numerous challenges and risks to geographically-affiliated organizations, as content posted online doesn’t always stay online.
Here are a few of the potential organization-level consequences of malicious content posted to anonymous hyperlocal social media apps:
Damages organizational culture
Negative impacts on college recruitment and retention
Decline in organizational morale
Negative publicity for the organization
Diminishes student and staff sense of safety
Loss of trust in organizational leadership
Reputation damage to established organizations
Undermines authority, good order, and discipline
Future Implications of Anonymous Hyperlocal Social Media Apps
Current Gen Z usage of anonymous hyperlocal social media apps presents numerous challenges to organizations and a multitude of questions related to how this type of online user behavior will impact our future.
After college graduation, will disgruntled Gen Zers look to “shitposting” anonymously on social media about the boss or coworker they don’t like, instead of addressing conflicts in a professional, responsible solutions-oriented manner?
Will early career military service members continue cyber harassing their comrades online as they progress up the ranks of military leadership?
Does current exposure to extensive online harassment desensitize users?
Will the current state of online misconduct influence organizations beyond higher education and the military?
Is it possible such online engagement will become normalized in society, and undermine multiple aspects of good order and process that support our communities and organizations?
Anonymous hyperlocal social media apps aren’t going to just “go away.” Some colleges and universities have restricted network access to problematic anonymous hyperlocal social media apps, such as Yik Yak; however, users simply migrate to similar social media apps, such as Jodel, Whisper, or Sidechat. New anonymous hyperlocal social media apps continue to be released. Fizz, an anonymous hyperlocal social media app, was originally released at Stanford University, and within just a netter of months, reported that approximately 95% of the undergraduate student body had downloaded the app.
Gas - another emerging anonymous hyperlocal social media app - is active at high schools all across the country. Named after the Gen Z slang for “gassing someone up,” Gas was promoted as a positive online space to receive anonymous compliments; however, as some often observed with anonymous hyperlocal social media apps, Gas communities frequently digress into cesspools of cyberbullying and online harassment of community members. Like most social media apps, Gas claims to take steps towards effective moderation; however, the reality is often far from the aspiration.
While earlier cohorts of college students and military recruits downloaded anonymous hyperlocal social media apps when entered adulthood, future cohorts may enter these institutions already actively engaged on anonymous hyperlocal social media apps as a result of early exposure in high school. Will online misconduct - cyberbullying, hate speech, mis/disinformation, sexual harassment and threats of suicide, acts of violence, mass shootings, and other acts of terrorism - become more normalized as “acceptable” in our online communities.
Next Steps
Organizations impacted by anonymous hyperlocal social media apps have a responsibility to effectively address the impacts of unethical, unprofessional, and illegal online activity. Our company has demonstrated experience mitigating the negative effects of anonymous hyperlocal social media apps. Services are customized to the organization’s unique needs and important mission. We offer strategic consulting, assessment, and response strategy development.
Additionally, we provide digital leadership, literacy, and professionalism training to organizational groups impacted by social media-related challenges, such as that observed with anonymous hyperlocal social media apps. If you would like to schedule a consultation to discuss capabilities and concerns, contact us.
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