The latest app to join the social networking roster, TBH (To Be Honest) is meant to share positive vibes. Users anonymously receive and can send superlatives, such as “Best person to get a cup of coffee with?" or "Who is most likely to keep in touch with friends after ten years? "
TBH was the most popular download in the iTunes store in late September 2017. It is only available for iPhones and is only available in a select number of states.
The user, let's call her Julie, downloads the app and gives TBH her grade and school. The app uses that info, along with her contact list, to push out invites to Julie’s friends to see if they will join her TBH friend list.
Julie will get a positive statement, such as “most likely to succeed,” and four names of people in her TBH list from which to choose. Let’s say she chooses, Sally. Later Sally will receive that compliment but will not see it is from Julie. In the same way, Julie will receive compliments from others anonymously.
Ranking people has been around long before social apps, but tech adds a major new dimension. These apps are especially concerning in our current societal trend of heightened individualism and competitiveness.
What is particularly interesting is not the widespread popularity of anonymous apps, but their lack of staying power. For example, my co-producer’s teenage daughter deleted it saying, “It’s the same question answered over and over again. With Instagram and others, you are looking at video and seeing new pictures and content all the time.”
She added that the anonymous feature didn’t work because in her group of friends there was only one boy who was playing, so you knew it was him. I have had other teens tell me the same thing.
Josh Constine writes in TechCrunch about the demise of YikYak and why he thinks anonymous apps don’t have staying power:
“The problem with anonymous apps is that over time they start to feel exhausting. The crude stories, played-out jokes stolen from Reddit and cringe-worthy bullying wear on people. While they might have a few juicy quips of their own to share, blowing off steam can eventually feel pointless. That’s why my Secret and Yik Yak usage dried up.”
For this week’s TTT, let’s talk about anonymous apps and TBH. Here are some questions to bring to the table.
As well as our weekly blog, we publish videos like this one every week on the Screenagers YouTube channel
The latest app to join the social networking roster, TBH (To Be Honest) is meant to share positive vibes. Users anonymously receive and can send superlatives, such as “Best person to get a cup of coffee with?" or "Who is most likely to keep in touch with friends after ten years? "
TBH was the most popular download in the iTunes store in late September 2017. It is only available for iPhones and is only available in a select number of states.
The user, let's call her Julie, downloads the app and gives TBH her grade and school. The app uses that info, along with her contact list, to push out invites to Julie’s friends to see if they will join her TBH friend list.
Julie will get a positive statement, such as “most likely to succeed,” and four names of people in her TBH list from which to choose. Let’s say she chooses, Sally. Later Sally will receive that compliment but will not see it is from Julie. In the same way, Julie will receive compliments from others anonymously.
Ranking people has been around long before social apps, but tech adds a major new dimension. These apps are especially concerning in our current societal trend of heightened individualism and competitiveness.
What is particularly interesting is not the widespread popularity of anonymous apps, but their lack of staying power. For example, my co-producer’s teenage daughter deleted it saying, “It’s the same question answered over and over again. With Instagram and others, you are looking at video and seeing new pictures and content all the time.”
She added that the anonymous feature didn’t work because in her group of friends there was only one boy who was playing, so you knew it was him. I have had other teens tell me the same thing.
Josh Constine writes in TechCrunch about the demise of YikYak and why he thinks anonymous apps don’t have staying power:
“The problem with anonymous apps is that over time they start to feel exhausting. The crude stories, played-out jokes stolen from Reddit and cringe-worthy bullying wear on people. While they might have a few juicy quips of their own to share, blowing off steam can eventually feel pointless. That’s why my Secret and Yik Yak usage dried up.”
For this week’s TTT, let’s talk about anonymous apps and TBH. Here are some questions to bring to the table.
As well as our weekly blog, we publish videos like this one every week on the Screenagers YouTube channel
Many young people are overwhelmed by constant social media use, which can displace important activities like sleep, schoolwork, and friendships. Over 200 school districts are suing platforms like Meta for harms related to social media addiction. The blog covers what problematic social media use is from a clinical perspective and how our kids can talk with a friend (or family member) if they are worried their friend might have some level of problematic use.
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A week ago, Instagram announced changes to its rules for “Teen Accounts.” All new teen users will be defaulted into these accounts, and current teen users will transition over the next two months. Instagram’s head of Products, discussed these changes, and one comment surprised me. She mentioned that teens aged 13 to 16 will need parental permission to have a public account, hoping this would encourage dialogue between teens and parents about social media use. However, I feel this still puts too much responsibility on parents when we need broader societal solutions. I discuss this and the rest of the changes in today's blog.
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READ MORE >for more like this, DR. DELANEY RUSTON'S NEW BOOK, PARENTING IN THE SCREEN AGE, IS THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR TODAY’S PARENTS. WITH INSIGHTS ON SCREEN TIME FROM RESEARCHERS, INPUT FROM KIDS & TEENS, THIS BOOK IS PACKED WITH SOLUTIONS FOR HOW TO START AND SUSTAIN PRODUCTIVE FAMILY TALKS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND IT’S IMPACT ON OUR MENTAL WELLBEING.
