Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2017
College/Unit
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Department/Program/Center
Communication Studies
Abstract
This study, employing an exploratory mixed-methods approach, explores college students’ use of Yik Yak, a pseudo-anonymous social media platform that allows users to post short messages and engage primarily with other nearby users. Study 1 qualitatively examined student uses and perceptions of the app through 12 in-depth interviews with Yik Yak users. Study 2 conducted a content analysis of yaks (N = 3,905) from 24 colleges and universities to gain a better understanding of the content that students post and engage with inside the app. The combination of qualitative and quantitative findings offers insight into the complex phenomena of Yik Yak in a university setting. Limitations and future directions of research are discussed.
Digital Commons Citation
Clark-Gordon, Cathlin V.; Workman, Kimberly E.; and Linvill, Darren L., "College Students and Yik Yak: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study" (2017). Faculty & Staff Scholarship. 1723.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/faculty_publications/1723
Source Citation
Clark-Gordon, C. V., Workman, K. E., & Linvill, D. L. (2017). College Students and Yik Yak: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study. Social Media + Society, 3(2), 205630511771569. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305117715696
Comments
Creative Commons CC BY: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
(http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).