Can Social Networking Apps Promote Positivity?

A new app for high schoolers has hit number one in the Apple App Store, and it is all centered around kindness.

Coming from the slang phrase to “gas someone up,” which means to compliment someone, Gas is a newly launched social networking app that allows classmates to compliment others through a series of polls.

Once a user downloads the app and links his or her location, he or she can then sync their contacts and start taking part in the anonymous hourly polls. These polls could be fun yearbook superlatives like best smile to specific questions like “Who is next Olympic medalist?” Whatever the question is, it is always positive.

When a student is selected in the poll, they are then notified and given a point for the app, but not shown the name of the person who voted for them. This is unless they pay for the $5-a-week subscription to see two name reveals per week.

Other anonymous apps targeted to younger audiences like Yik Yak and Ask. fm have faced problems in the past with cyberbullying and had periods of shutdown. Could the Gas app turn out different? Is the app safe for high schoolers?

The founder has said himself that he hopes Gas can help teenagers avoid cyberbullying online and the company has said that it wishes to “create a place that makes us feel better about ourselves.”

With Gas known as the coolest and kindest app in school right now, could it potentially give way to more positivity on social media?