Some students have expressed their distaste in recent weeks for new mobile application Peeple described as a “Yelp for people,” after the initial concept was introduced to the public in late September.
Co-founders Nicole McCullough and Julia Cordray planned to launch the people-rating application in November, despite the negative feedback received from the public over the course of the past weeks.
“There is no point to an app like this,” said Steven Thorp, junior environmental science major. “It is based entirely on personal opinion.”
From a sample of 100 students, 78 percent agreed there is no place for the app on campus. The decision was unanimous that an application such as Peeple is too judgmental.
Peeple would allow users to rate their friends and family under three categories, professional, personal and romantic on a scale of 0-5 with the option to comment and provide further feedback.
Dr. Ken Pearce, professor of psychology said he was unimpressed by the app and said he was concerned about the dangerous repercussions it could cause.
“The concept lacks depth and broadness,” Pearce said. “(The app) leaves out many other areas in which people could look at the ratings of others.”
Users can add anyone into the system by entering the phone number of the person being rated with no ability for that person to opt out of the ratings, eliciting fear of harassment.
“It is not biblical in the sense that (problems) should be handled face-to-face,” said Mark Terbest, freshman actuarial science major.
“This is a bullying opportunity,” Terbest said. “This is the allowance of an easy outlet for online bashing.”
As more complaints have been brought up, Peeple has released additional statements about making the application more positive.
“Peeple is a positive only app,” said Cordray in a blog post. “We want to bring positivity and kindness to the world.”
Only positive reviews will be automatically posted according to the company, while negative reviews will appear in an inbox for users to approve for 48 hours before going away. For non-users who are registered on the application, only positive reviews will be displayed.
Since their initial announcements of the app, all social media accounts for Peeple and Cordray have been disabled because of the amount of negative feedback they have received about their own service.
The true nature of this app and its repercussions will only be known when the app is officially available to the public in late November for iPhone and Android users. Until then, potential users can continue to speculate and provide their own “ratings” for the app.
