Glenn Wagstaff
Andre Corbett, a fourth year student studying communication.
“The hottest part of sex is when I take off my glasses and put them in a safe place.” “I would hate it if I went through college and ended up being a stay-at-home mom.” “I automatically have to be nice to fast food workers because I don’t want people to spit in or poison my food.”
By now you have probably reached the conclusion that the title has nothing to do with George Michael’s famous 1984 hit about his former romances. Instead, this has everything to do with Whisper, an app which allows users to anonymously post whatever they want no matter how crude, rude or just of full of attitude that the content is. This content can be viewed by an audience as close as a tenth of a mile away or as far as entire continents.
It is also the app that provides us with one of the few outlets to truly voice opinions that may or may not be socially acceptable out of a fear of public shaming, ridicule and harassment. Don’t mistake that last sentence to mean that it is eradicated on the app, as all of that, and more, is still there but at least your name is not attached to it. Although, that freedom is exactly why this is the app that we need during this modern-day era of censorship by the masses.
In fact, you may wonder who is actually using this app and what circumstances may have led them to post these honest messages for all to see. I cannot answer what might lead someone to post certain statements but I can provide an answer to who Whisper’s biggest audience is: you. Yes, you sitting there with your coffee waiting for class to start. You sitting at the bench in the Brickyard trying to pass the time. You, the college student. We are the audience and the entertainers all at the same time under the veil of Whisper.
The Huffington Post even referred to our use of the app as the “Secret Lives of College Students,” which, in looking at a lot of the content, seems to be wholly applicable. Not to mention that Kevin Roose of New York Magazine, states that Whisper sees more than 3 billion views a month. You can complain about a grade a professor gave you but also comment on how attractive they might be in the same breath or subliminally talk about a group of people being too loud at the library with the hopes that one of the them uses the app. All without the fear of retribution or persecution.
In the cases of Harsha Ravuri and Brianka Morgan, the freedom to openly express their thoughts far outweighs any potential negative that they might receive from their interactions with other users or even the app itself. Ravuri, who studied computer science and graduated in fall 2017, was a user of Yik Yak, an app that provided a similar functionality to that of Whisper, before Yik Yak was shut down in spring 2017. He has been using Whisper since last summer and cites the anonymity of the app as well as its ability to foster conversation, both respectful and otherwise, as the driving factors for the honesty it provides along with his continued use of it.
Morgan, a graduate student studying communication, utilizes Whisper for what she describes as “validation” and “information” which both confirms her beliefs as well as provides a general consensus on topics interesting to her. The main drawbacks for them stem from kids under 18 using the app, its glitchy functionality, and the disconnect one might receive for being a person of color. However, the connection to people is strong enough that it provides an appeal which draws both of them in as it does for countless other students.
I ask that you reflect on the words that you use, or do not use, on a day-to-day basis when conversing with others. Do you find yourself pausing so that you do not end up saying the wrong thing and end up ostracized, or worse, on the very campus which emphasizes “free thinking”? Hell, we even have a Free Expression Tunnel but if you can truly say what is on your mind at any given time, then maybe we would start seeing some more people write their thoughts publicly instead of when no one is around. Not accounting for the heavy flow of foot traffic of course.
Whisper does more than just allow you to post whatever random thought comes to mind as there are even entire sections devoted to supporting depressed individuals, weight loss, romance and more. This also leads me to say that just because we can say what we want does not mean that we should be irresponsible with our words. To put it bluntly, you can be honest without going out of your way to be a jerk. I just ask that you allow your “whisper” to speak volumes as societal censorship grows ever more stringent.