On Oct. 16, 2014, Christian Allen Matthews of Cayce joined the USC thread on Yik Yak and posted the comment, “Downvote me all you want. People will still die.”
Matthewsposted further responses saying that “everyone will see” and that “I will never chill … Until they all pay.”
He was charged with breach of peace, nonaggravated in nature and the unlawful use of telephone by the USC Police Department. Upon his arrest, Matthews admitted to posting the comments. The case is currently awaiting deposition.
“The defendant’s actions caused panic/fear in the community,” the arrest warrant stated. “A police report was completed due to the fear that he instilled, and several Yik Yak comments were made indicating fear.”
'WHEN IT GOES BAD, IT GOES REAL BAD'
Robert Valois, a USC professor in the Arnold School of Public Health, said it's easy for people to read that post and think of the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007 that resulted in 33 deaths or similar cases.
"A school is statistically the safest place to be, but when it goes bad, it goes real bad," Valois said. "You’ve got a lot more people, I think, that are just living on the edge."
Valois said with social media making the world a much smaller place and conflicts around the globe, it's necessary to take all such threats or instances of cyberbullying seriously.
“Here’s an angry person, and Lord knows what he’s angry about … You’ve got to take that, unfortunately, as a serious threat because in the environment we have today, there are just too many people that are just angry at something and they’ll take their anger out on innocent people," Valois said. "You can’t take anything for granted. You just can’t blow off a comment like that. Anytime someone uses a word like that, you just don’t know where they’re going to show up and where they’re going to do their damage. You’ve got to be proactive.
The Yik Yak, Inc., which was created by two Furman University graduates in 2013, advertises the app as a live feed that enables users to "share [their] thoughts with people around [them] while keeping [their] privacy" and "control what's hot," but posts have sometimes included threats and hate speech.
SCHOOLS, STUDENTS TAKE ACTION
In November, 12 student leaders on USC's campus tried to take action about the potential negative effects of Yik Yak on college-aged students through an open letter. Leaders that signed this letter included representatives of Student Government, Fraternity Council, Sorority Council, Carolina Productions, multicultural organizations, Dance Marathon and an athletic organization.
"[Yik Yak] threatens our community for several reasons. It gives power in its anonymity for people to lose integrity, promote bigotry and disrespect the rights and properties of others," the open letter read. "Furthermore, it allows for no personal accountability for foul words and crude statements. It allows distortion of the truth and churns rumors that are not constructive to our community and our own personal progress."
The letter went on to say that Gamecocks "are better" than making hateful, illegal and threatening posts on social media. It reminded students of the Carolinian Creed and asked them to be "positive and encouraging" even on social media.
"There’s a lot of power in being anonymous, but that power can really hurt someone," said Lindsay Richardson, student body president and a signer of the letter. She said she encourages students to think twice before they post on social media.
USC is not the only one taking action against the app. According to the Associated Press, Clemson is now considering banning the app after racially offensive posts. Leon Wiles, the university's chief diversity officer, told The Greenville News that a group of mostly black students asked for the ban.
Norwich University in Vermont and Utica College in New York have already banned Yik Yak through the school's wireless networks.
'A WHOLE NEW FRONTIER'
Many people believe the impact of social media outlets such as Yik Yak are not small and can even become cyberbullying.
"The effects can have long-ranging psychological effects that could deal with substance abuse, anorexia, depression, suicide," Valois said. "You can break your arm, but if someone breaks your spirit, it takes you longer to recover from something psychologically than it does physically."
Valois believes this comes in part from the power of anonymity. He worries that some students will lose the ability to communicate through forms other than social media and that hiding behind social media in situation of aggression can have extremely severe consequences.
"When I grew up, bullying was there, but it was in your face, it was physical," Valois said. "Now you can cause a lot of havoc and not have to face someone face to face, and I think that’s a problem. I think it adds to the magnitude of the problem and it adds to the negative psychology of the problem.”
Bradley Smith, a professor in the College of Education at the University of Houston and a former USC professor, said that although psychologists had made a lot of headway in research about traditional bullying, cyberbullying is a whole new area.
“It’s a whole new frontier for psychologists,” Smith said. “I think they’re just starting to get their heads wrapped around it.”
Smith predicts that society will see new ways of dealing with bullying. Cyberbullying eliminates bystander support, which psychiatrists identified as one of the most important elements of traditional bullying. Smith said that he foresees an emphasis on ways to report inappropriate message on social media sites.
THE CHEMISTRY OF IT ALL
Valois believes that one reason social media can have such negative effects is because of the lack of coping skills victims have, since most college-aged students do not have the life experience to have these skills do deal with cyberbullying or similar forms of threats and harassment.
Additionally, the frontal lobes, which control decision-making and problem solving, are the last parts of the brain to develop. The frontal lobes usually mature around ages 22-25, making it much easier for college-aged students to make posts on social media they’ll later regret without giving it a second thought.
“I think we’ve created kind of a scary environment with social media — powerful, powerful upside and powerful, powerful downside,” Valois said. “We’ve eliminated so many communicable diseases that I really worry about the mental health.”
There are consequences for both perpetrators and victims of harassment on social media. Eric Grabski, spokesman for the USC Department of Law Enforcement and Safety, said the threat on Yik Yak USC saw in October should serve as a reminder of the these consequences.
“It’s important to remember that threatening someone on social media is illegal,” Grabski said."It's an example of the consequences, but also of someone coming forward and reporting it. Bullying is not a crime in and of itself, but the things that accompany it can be crimes.”
WHEN NEGATIVITY THRIVES
USC has dealt with several victims of forms of harassment such as cyberbullying and cyber-stalking, according to Corey Ingram, program coordinator for the Office of Sexual Assault Violence Intervention and Prevention,
"USC, along with every other aspect of society, has experienced how social media has changed our environment. It is now something that is studied in the classroom and used by university offices to share their messages with students," said Erin Kitchell, Coordinator of Student Outreach. "We’ve also seen students post hurtful comments directed towards individuals and organizations. Yik Yak in particular is one avenue where a lot of negativity thrives and individuals and organizations across campus have been subject to unnecessary comments."
If there have been two or more incidents of bullying or stalking, USC Police Department can become involved. Ingram said that once this happens, incidents rarely continue. The Office of Student Conduct also works to ensure the university's environment is as safe as possible through a conduct code, which it upholds in such cases.
The Office of Sexual Assault Violence Intervention and Prevention gives victims tips for creating an environment that makes it difficult for people they are unfamiliar with to interact with them on social media. These tips include limiting the number of friends or followers you have on social media and understanding the privacy settings of these sites.
Kitchellsaid that these tips still aren't enough, however, and it is up to students to decide exactly how they make use of social media.
"While campus administrators can educate students about the dangers of what they post online, students themselves should step up and hold each other accountable," Kitchell said in an email. "This means not up-voting a hurtful comment because you think it is funny. It means thinking before you post. Most of all, it means if you’re in conflict with someone don’t tweet about it or text someone else about it. Have a constructive conversation with that person to resolve the conflict."
GOING NOWHERE FAST
Recent arrests prove that even "anonymous" posts can't be completely anonymous, and police will find individuals who use social media inappropriately. Kitchell said students should post positively even when they don't think anyone will identify them as the author of a post.
"Be positive in what you post. Your online identity is a reflection of who you are," Kitchell said. "Even if what you post is anonymous and it is nothing a potential employer or your mom will see, at the end of the day you need to feel good about how you contributed to our community. Comments made in the online world can still have very real world effects."
Ingram said that it is also important for students to understand the definition of bullying and recognize early on if they are being harassed. Individuals that do believe they are being harassed should report the situation and save copies of any threatening messages.
“Society is so advanced, and that’s the way of the world now,” Ingram said. “A lot of times a situation gets to a drastic point before they realize they need some kind of help.”
Threats like the one made at USC are not limited to this campus; both social media threats and cyberbullying have become issues nationwide.
In Sept. 2014, the University of Alabama put a women’s residence hall on lockdown and asked sorority women especially to remain inside following threats made on social media.The University of Georgia dispatched a bomb squad following threats on social media, and the student responsible was ordered to leave Clarke County.
A student at the College of William & Mary was sentenced to two years in prison on harassment charges after threatening to “violently rape and kill” two female students, which he mentioned by name, on the Internet.
“This is not something that’s going to go away,” Valois said. “It’s something we’re going to have to get better at dealing with.”