Schools call for ban of anonymous social media app 'Whisper'
The Independent Institute of Education wants to ban the platform which has been used for cyberbullying and sharing explicit content.
Cyberbulling / Pexels: Rdne Stock Project 6936070
John Maytham speaks with Sarah Hoffman, Social Media Lawyer.
Listen to the interview in the audio below.
'Whisper' is an app which allows users to anonymously post thoughts, questions, or opinions in text laid over background pictures.
The Independent Institute of Education (IIE) group has called for a ban of this platform and has asked parents to monitor their children’s online activity to enforce this.
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The online platform can be used in a harmful way by anonymously threatening or cyberbullying pupils or exposing them to sexually explicit content.
Some of the ways Hoffman has seen this used is pupils posting a picture of a classmate and having others vote ‘hot or not,’ which can be detrimental to their self-esteem.
Even worse, people have posted explicit images and tried to get others to guess who it is.
She says this app was previously removed from the app store but has made its way back.
“I really do not see any positive spin on this particular platform.”
- Sarah Hoffman, Social Media Lawyer
She adds that she always cautions against anonymous apps as they encourage teenagers to take risks with what they post.
“It encourages all sorts of messaging that they would never say to one’s face.”
- Sarah Hoffman, Social Media Lawyer
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.