Newsletter 1.23-2 article
GAS Social Media app overtakes TikTok
A new Sherriff is in town, “GAS”, which is going viral rapidly, especially among high school teens
“GAS” is a social media app that the Wall Street Journal claims to be “the hottest app right now.” It is founded by Nikita Bier, who also founded TBH, a similar app that Facebook acquired in 2017 but shut down in 2018.
The term “GAS” comes from Internet slang meaning a person who tries hard and goes out of their way to impress someone. To “GAS” someone up means to “pump someone up” with a compliment or anything else. Similarly, the “GAS” app serves the same functions.
Basically, “GAS” is an anonymous question-and-answer app, where users can interact with people from their school, neighborhood, or others anonymously. It encourages small social groups to connect without direct messaging.
How does the “GAS” app work?
The “GAS” app works by accessing your location data when you sign up to help you select your high school and lets you add the people from your school, their friends, and the friends they add. However, you can’t talk or message anyone.
Instead, users are served multiple-choice questions about fellow students with superlative-style answers. For instance, there are questions like “Who is most likely to dress up as the poop emoji for Halloween?”, “Bodies every new sport they try,” and “Their smile makes my heart melt?”
The “GAS” app is pretty different than other social media platforms. There isn’t a feature to talk or post content but you can interact with polls, motivate the people you may know, and let them know you have a crush on them, but anonymously. Upon answering, your friends will receive Flames, which means to be gassed up, and it’ll boost their self-esteem. This app is intended to “create a place that makes us feel better about ourselves,” according to its website.
How to Use the Gas App?
Using the “GAS”\ app is pretty simple and anyone can use it despite the app catering more to high school students and teenagers. You have to install it on your device from the App Store, sign up for an account, and add friends, which would be the people you may know.
Once you have added friends to your list, you will receive polls that you’d have to answer. The answers will be the names of your friends. When you select the name of a friend, they’ll receive Flames, which are nothing but a deemed measure of popularity.
There’s nothing else to do on the app. If you thought it was something similar to TikTok or Instagram, then you’re going to be disappointed.
Is the Gas App Safe for Teenagers to Use?
There are plenty of concerns among teens and their parents about the “GAS” social media app due to it accessing your exact location. A rumor surfacing on the web claims that hackers and predators can access users’ location and information using the “GAS” app.
However, that’s just false as the app only asks for your location to let you select your High School. The co-founder Nikita Bier told the WSJ that the data is not even stored on the platform’s servers while addressing rumors. Hence, you don’t need to worry about that.
Another thing to note is that there isn’t any visual content available on the platform yet. Thus, there’s no need to worry if teenagers will be exposed to harmful content.
Still, it makes sense to conclude that the “GAS” app is safe for teenagers. However, people should still take the usual safety precautions that they follow while using other social media apps. They shouldn’t trust anyone on the Internet.
One concerning fact about the “GAS” app is that it triggers a dopamine cycle that trains teens to check their phones for validation. Although “GAS” was created to “boost self-esteem,” it could become addictive as people start requiring that validation by others.
Other than that, all is well with the app. There is no bullying, no stalking, or any other risk.
It even has live customer support. If you have any problems, you can just connect with their support team.
