Alyssa Sloss
Although many anonymous messaging apps, such as ask.fm, have come and gone, Sarahah still remains prevalent to teenagers despite risks of bullying.
Junior Emma Brewer uses the website/app on her snapchat to receive messages from those who choose to comment. “I feel like the app is used so people can know what other people really think about them”, she says.
According to USA Today, the now popular teen app originally started as a website for workers to give anonymous messages to their bosses without fear of being put under fire for any complaints. Despite a seemingly innocent start, the app can still be used as a means for cyber-bullying.
“…The app ‘helps you in discovering your strengths and areas for improvement by receiving honest feedback from your employees and your friends in a private manner’”, the owner of the app, ZainAlabdin Tawfiq, said to USA Today.
Junior Ragan Bowers was once bullied on another anonymous messaging website, ask.fm, that was popular a few years ago. Bowers says that despite this, she still downloaded Sarahah to see what people really thought about her.
“I think Sarahah can be used for [cyberbullying] because people know that you won’t know who left those messages”, she says.
The ultimate question, however, is whether or not teens should be using this app at all. Brewer and Bowers both believe the website should not be used by teenagers. “I think that there’s really no point of having [Sarahah] and kids or teenagers that know their going through tough times or can’t handle being told rude things shouldn’t be using it”, Brewer says.
“I don’t think teens should be using it really because [the app] wasn’t made for us”, Bowers says.
