privacy

The Secret & Whisper Apps: A Private, Cathartic Process for Millennials or a Narcissistic, Bullying App?

The Secret & Whisper Apps: A Private, Cathartic Process for Millennials or a Narcissistic, Bullying App?

The Secret app and the Whisper app allow users to send messages anonymously and receive replies. Users post messages which are displayed as text superimposed over an image, similar to greeting cards. Secret differs from Whisper and other anonymous sharing apps such as PostSecret and Yik Yak in that it is intended for sharing primarily with friends, making it more interesting and addictive for people reading the secret, anonymous updates because of the closeness of the real relationship.

The Anonymous Trend
Obviously, this is different from what we currently consider social media in the sense that it doesn’t seem too openly social but rather private and behind closed doors (or screens).  These types of apps are all part of a growing trend towards anonymous and quasi-anonymous sharing, which is meant as a certain slap in the face to Facebook and other social media that push to encourage real name use throughout the Internet.