By Allyson Ennis In today’s society, most negative feedback is hardly ever received to one’s face, as social media allows us to anonymously hate on others without retribution. Oftentimes we forget to give one another positive feedback that improves self-esteem instead of tearing someone down. Thankfully, a new app that has gained popularity nearly overnight seems to be reversing this idea. TBH is an anonymous app that allows people to show appreciation towards their peers, without pointing fingers. The social app, standing for “To Be Honest,” is slowly stretching across the country after being released in early August. It has just recently become accessible in Pennsylvania. It has even achieved the title of the number one app in the App Store for Apple users, after just two months in operation. The app only allows the delivery of positive feedback to others. From “The Best Person to Sit Next to in Class” to “Even Prettier Than They Think,” the app allows teenagers and young adults to receive compliments from their peers, boosting one’s self-confidence. Each compliment received is considered a “Gem.” The more positive feedback one acquires, the more gems one collects over time on his or her profile. One owning the app can also choose to send Gems to the friends that he has specifically allowed to follow him. The question, however, remains: is TBH a harmless one hit wonder, or could it incite bullying? Some would argue that the app does include some questionable compliments that some may find insulting, such as “They are a snack,” but it is rare to come across one. “The statements are not negative,” said a Junior at Wilson High School, Caitlyn Bleiler. “They are positive and it enforces positivity throughout our community by giving others anonymous compliments.” The app specifically strives to get rid of any negative commentary and usually only contains positive feedback for its users. The way Gems, or the specific compliments to be awarded, are created is by the users themselves. Someone with the app can write their own praise and send it in for inspection before it is used as a real Gem. This way, any harmful feedback is never accepted. Recently, the app has created a new update, allowing the ability to send text messages back to those who complimented you anonymously. This way, one could ask for another’s anonymity to be revealed or to thank him for the compliment, but could bullying occur over the new messaging addition? Easily, someone could offend someone in his own words over messaging. Whether TBH is harmless or is inciting bullying is up for debate, but most students believe it to be a temporary hit nonetheless. They believe the popularity of the app will stick around for just a short phase, so even if there are issues of bullying, they aren’t likely to last. However, there have been little to no reports or tellings of bullying so far through TBH, and, to be honest, our school should aspire to keep it that way. Photos Courtesy Of: pixabay.com; businessinsider.com
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Elena Caputo
Hi! My name is Elena, and I'm a senior at Wilson and one of the Editors of the Editorial section. If you have any questions or ideas or if you want to write, email me at [email protected]! Olivia MonosHello! My name is Olivia and I'm a junior this year, and one of the editors of the Editorial section! I'm really excited to write for the Paw Print again this year!
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