Ask.Fm & Sarahah: Why?

In a new age of almost no privacy where young people are becoming increasingly unaware of the significance of their personal privacy, they are publishing posts with their exact location and revealing personal things online. If you haven’t heard of Ask.fm, it is basically a website in which you create an account, share the link with others and then they can post comments, or traditionally questions (ask.fm), and the commenter can read others’ questions that the original creator has replied to. The original creator has no pressure to respond to any comments and questions. Sarahah is quite similar to Ask.fm, you create an account, share the link with others, and they can post comments and questions. However, the main difference is that other users cannot see all the questions that are posted, they will only be able to see them if the original user chooses to respond to through screenshots of comments on their Snapchat or Instagram story. Of course, not responding is always an option for the user, and many do not share their comments (from the people that I’ve seen).

Go check out Elly A’s (cringey) Ask.Fm page and her Sarahah page! Leave a question if you’d like 🙂

Usually, people log into this site in order to make mean comments about the original user or to ask them to rate their best friends in order to hurt others. They also try to spread rumors or create drama, often without any reason. It’s some sort of revenge for the user or a way of expressing their anger, which they don’t feel they can do in other ways.

Essentially, these sites are an anonymous way for people to write and ask whatever they please. It almost gives them an outlet for bullying and making harsh comments without any accountability. This is almost a trend in today’s day and age. People are finding more and more ways to say whatever they want, without having any sort of responsibility for their words; which is kind of a scary world to live in. People have found out who are their real friends through Ask.fm especially. In one example from the Huffington post, Natasha Lerner recounts an event when one of her closest friends was asked who she hated most, and replied with her name. Even some of her other ‘friends’ then liked this post as well and she found out just how few real friends she has. All in all, this would have ended up as a positive, even if it must have hurt in the moment.

However, these sites are not always harmful; in many cases, these sites can be used to confess things which might be awkward with a safety blanket or confront a friend about something that has been bothering you without worrying about the physical encounter. Obviously, these sites were originally created with positive intentions in mind, and these negative effects were simply the consequence of being exposed to the modern society. Which, is actually, a poignant statement about the world we live in today.

Overall, Ask.fm and Sarahah are sites that you definitely do not need but can be some fun if you have a thick skin for the unavoidable negative comments.

For more information visit the Huffington Post.