Students quick to unplug Yik Yak

Heidi Phillips, 15, (left) and Jack Johnson, 15 talk about the new app Yik Yak. Photo / George Novak

A mobile app that has been linked to cyber bullying in Tauranga appears to be falling out of favour with teens.

Yik Yak - which allows users to "share your thoughts and keep your privacy" - has come under fire across the world for providing bullies with a non-accountable way to attack people.

Tauranga principals say education is the only way to stop cyber bullying because each new social media provides another channel for bullies.

Mount Maunganui College blocked the site last week.

However, Year 11 students of Mount Maunganui College who spoke to the Bay of Plenty Times yesterday said the app's popularity was fading fast.

It usually held user interest for about four days before "it got boring," one said.

Jack Johnson, who had used the app, said the hype around it had already died down.

"I was only on it just to see if my name came up," said Jack.

"It was good but then it just got old."

Although the school had blocked the app on its network, students could still access it through their personal internet connections on their smartphones, he said.

Fellow student Heidi Phillips said the hype was around "people talking about other people".

"People stopped talking and it just got boring," she said.

Joseph Wallace and James Cornelius said some students had used it to bully while posting anonymously.

"It's just nasty stuff ... and people don't know who it's from." said James.

"It was just things like girls who wear too much make-up," Joseph said.

Another student said the app was not as popular with Year 12 or Year 13 students.

Netsafe was aware of Yik Yak.

Young people had been using the app to "abuse and harass" because they can get away with it anonymously, said the organisation's training and education specialist, Lee Chisholm.

Most bullying reports were from parents or teachers of intermediate and high school students.