Perhaps you’ve heard about the Tea App and its “noble” mission “to give women the tools they need to date safely in a world that often overlooks their protection.” The app provides background checks on men, catfish image searches, sex offender searches, phone number lookup, and a criminal record search. They vow to donate 10% of their profits to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. On the surface, the app seems like the ultimate safety tool for women.
But sadly, the app’s key feature allows women to anonymously post pictures and names of men, and ask other women about them, too. Other women can then anonymously respond, as well as give men red and green flags.
This is where the trouble lies.
I was left wondering: who is talking about me? Are they friends making jokes, or girls I don’t know spreading rumors? Is anyone taking any of the comments seriously? Since the app is exclusively for women, men have no way to defend themselves. This means there is nothing stopping women from making untruthful claims about men. If a woman is upset about a breakup, she can anonymously make up fake information. Many men are left stranded, unsure of what women are saying about them on the internet, and unsure how to defend themselves. And especially in a world where words online can stop you from getting into colleges or jobs, apps like the Tea App can be especially dangerous.
Although the app requires women to be 18 to join, and all men who post must be over 18, the app lacks verification. This has allowed girls at LFHS to join the app, and many boys at LFHS, including myself, are left unable to defend themselves.
Under my post, I received an array of comments, both positive and negative, but many were outlandish and untrue.
Although I didn’t take much personal and serious offense to the comments, I was somewhat disturbed by some of the things people were saying about me. I was left wondering: who is talking about me? Are they friends making jokes, or girls I don’t know spreading rumors? Is anyone taking any of the comments seriously?
Unchecked accusations have significantly decreased the app’s reliability, which is rather counterproductive to its intended mission and dilutes its purpose. What was supposed to help women has left them wondering what’s true and what isn’t.
According to Business Insider, on Oct. 21, Apple removed the app from the App Store after it failed to comply with its privacy policy and content moderation rules. However, the app remains available to those who have already downloaded it, as well as its web version.
Only after millions of men across the country’s privacy and integrity were put in jeopardy, was the app taken down. Lingering issues still remain, especially for men. When technology provides the opportunity to talk anonymously, rumors fly. Since technology has largely taken personalness out of conversation, people are more willing than ever to share any negative thoughts without worrying about their impact. Typing into a phone has led us to forget that there are people on the other side. Many have been desensitized to harsh language online, so we don’t think twice about it. However, in reality, someone just as human as you lies on the other side of the screen.
