Teenagers Exploit the After School App Resulting to Harmful Results

High school is usually a difficult time for most teenagers. With so many things happening on so many fronts, it's easy to become affected by snide, rude comments no matter from the source. A popular app with high school teens is taking that to the next level.

The After School app is nationwide and on more than 22,300 high school campuses. Marketed and typically accessible only by teenagers, the parents and teachers that surround them are usually unaware of the buzz of words being sent around them.

The app was originally created for students to talk about sensitive issues without the fear of letting others know who they were. The app verifies that the user is a high school through their Facebook page. Sadly the anonymity that the app has allowed has also permitted bully, crude comments, and, in some cases possibly, criminal activity.

Even though cyberbullying has been around since the introduction of the Internet, the After School app has created a more dangerous environment for users. When done over Facebook and Twitter, there is usually some type of identity that is associated with the posts. But with the app, the posts are completely anonymous and with that freedom, can come comments and posts that can be crueler than normal.

The Washington Post spoke with Mya Bianchi, and 15-year-old student at Ionia High School in Michigan. "At first it was people saying nice things and complimenting others, and then it turned into bullying." She said that one of the users had posted her number telling others to contact her for photos, implying that the photos would be of her in a swimsuit or some other scant clothing. Bianchi had to change her number after receiving harassing messages.

After complaints on the abuse of the app, the creators removed it from the store but returned with more safety features like tracking cellphone data to locate the user, or a warning system that would ask a teen who had posted a message about depression if they would want to text with a counselor.

These updates to the app, however helpful, are not completely able to control its users. Principal Michelle Jonas at Crook County High in Oregon was able to download the app. She opened it and found disturbing comments and posts. Speaking with KTVZ, one of the students at Crook County High described the content.

"People just comment about other people, just to hurt them. You can definitely tell they want to hurt other people."

In Warren, Massachusetts, according to WWLP, the app has become involved in a more extreme situation, with one of the users online making a threat against a Worcester County middle and high school. The threat created such a concern that officials had the student body stay home.

With the app's accessibility and anonymity the stream of hurtful and threatful comments will likely continue. It may be sometime before an adult can fully take control of the situation, most likely causing the end of the app.