As Gas grows in popularity, parents may be concerned about the dangers of the new social app. Social media has a reputation for toxicity. The internet is known to facilitate bullying and undermine self-esteem. The platform hopes to change the conversation and how teens connect with each other.
Nikita Bier, Isaiah Turner and Dave Schatz developed Gas to show users that people admire them. The founders launched the anonymous poll-based social app in August in only a handful of U.S. states. Recently, Gas took the number one spot in the social category of the Apple Store, surpassing TikTok and BeReal. Both students and parents are taking notice of it.
Teenagers use Gas to ask friends to rate each other on encouraging polls. After downloading the app and creating an account, users add friends through their phone's contact lists, friends of friends, by their school, and by searching via username. Users can then create polls to send their friends. Then users will use their friend list to answer the polls anonymously. When a user is chosen in a poll, Gas will send the user 'Flames.' In case that isn't enough to boost self-esteem, Gas also displays 'Top Flames' or the polls the user is most selected. Gas has other features, such as coins where users can boost their name to show up more on people's lists and a God mode so that individuals can see the profiles of those who voted for them on the polls. The God mode adds intrigue as some users can determine who may like them. But overall, the intention is to build up the self-esteem and confidence of the younger generation.
Gas Uses Location Tracking To Find Nearby Schools
Gas targets high school students, which raises concerns about its safety. Gas assures users that the location tracking is only used once during sign-up to find nearby schools, and Gas does not store the location in their servers. However, Gas does not state how they ensure the user is a student at sign-up. While parents want to keep their kids safe from strangers, including local residents, it's important to note that users can only vote for people who are their friends on the app. Additionally, Gas does not allow messaging in the app, so even if someone accepts a friend request from someone they do not know, they cannot talk to them. The only real risk is a privacy violation, as a person can join a school to see the students' names. Otherwise, it seems relatively safer than many other apps.
Gas ensures that every poll is positive and uplifting. The founders strive to make it a bully-free zone. If any user breaks the terms and conditions, Gas will remove them. Gas could be rewarding to high schoolers who need to boost their self-esteem once in a while. Hopefully, Gas will continue to motivate teens to build each other up.
Sources: Gas