Using Sarahah app was a bad decision, thanks to the harassing remarks and criticism

Oscar Wilde once said, "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask and he will tell you the truth." The phrase fits perfectly when it comes to the new viral app - Sarahah. Although, the Arabic term Sarahah means -- honesty, but in real life it really has nothing to do with honesty at all. The application was actually designed with the aim to allow people to send constructive messages to one another, but that's not what has been happening. Instead, users are using the app as means to bully the other person, troll him/her. Well, that's not really the key motto of the app.

It's not even six months that the app has gone live and Sarahah has gained momentum very quickly and is spreading like wild fire. Some may already know about the new internet sensation, while others still have no clue about the app and would have questions like -- what is it? how does it work? so on and so forth. Well, if you're on Facebook, Twitter or Snapchat you must have seen your news feed flooded with messages posted on those green bordered pop-ups. That's Sarahah. It is an app available for Android and iOS users and is used to send secret messages to people.

So, now the question is, if it's a mere app, why is everyone talking about it? Well, it is because of this unique feature of the application where you can send messages to people without revealing your identity. On one hand this sounds somewhat tempting and interesting, but scary too. Scary because people can take advantage of the anonymous nature of the app and bully or troll others. Well, to be honest this has been happening in a few corners of the globe already. People are using the platform as a means of cyber bullying.

Sarahah was first introduced back in the month of February as a website. However, later the app developer realised that an app version of Sarahah can go viral. And that's exactly what has happened. To be honest, hearing about the anonymous nature of the app for the first time it sounded extremely interesting, but the excitement eventually turned to depression. This app is scary. This is because of all the unsavory comments that your haters would send you, and then if you're a person to take things very seriously. Sarahah is really not the one for you at all. People will also send you good messages, praise you and stuff, but then it is fact that there will a very small bunch of people who want your good. So, if you haven't joined Sarahah and still wish to register to it, well, you may do that at your own risk. To some extent using Sarahah can be risky; it is because it can often lead to depression and anxiety if you are a person to take comments and trolls very seriously. And I say this based on my personal experience with the application.

Going by some reports circulation on the web, Sarahah is being used mostly by teenagers, and this has raised concerns among the parents. This is because some people are misusing the application for cyber bullying and harassing others. And this is one of the major reasons why I couldn't use Sarahah for more than 24 hours and was bound to remove my account.

It is just the other day that I was online on Facebook, scrolling down my news feed and that's when I came across some posts, followed by the hash tag -- #Sarahah. After seeing most of the people on my friend list sharing Sarahah post's I also got tempted and thought of trying out the app. Probably, that was the worst decision ever.

Saraha is fun and scary both. Scary because people can take advantage of the anonymous nature of the app and bully or troll others. Well, this has been happening in a few corners of the globe

At one end the anonymous nature of the app sounds crazy, sending messages to someone and that person will not even get to know your identity. This is like those "secret confessions" game that we used to play in our childhood. You can now say something that you always wanted to tell someone, but couldn't. This sounded very tempting and exciting. That's when I decided to download the app.

It is noteworthy, to send a message you don't need to create an account with the app. So, initially I didn't create an account and started sending fun messages to my Facebook friends. Until sending these secret messages was fine. But, the problem arose when I decided to download the app myself. Initial few messages that were sent to me were good - basically positive messages. But, things turned to be a little ugly later.

It started to depress me a bit after some people (obviously people I know personally) sent messages pointing at my nature, and how much they hate me, where I lack in life, so on and so forth. It didn't just stop just there, body shamming comments was another reason that forced me leave Sarahah. I started to think, am I really like this? Well, anyone receiving such messages would think the same.

Ever since the app went viral, several women have taken to social media platforms to post about all the body shamming comments they have received

People think differently, some may laugh out after reading such comments, but for some (like me) this may bother them a way too much. This hasn't just happened with me, but with several other people have also been victimised. The proof to this is the Twitter thread of #Sarahah. Ever since the app went viral, several women have taken to social media platforms to post about all the body shamming comments they have received. There are some posts, which even an other woman will be ashamed of reading.

Sarahah is the brainchild of a developer from Saudi Arabia - Zain al-Abidin Tawfiq. It was clearly mentioned that the app is for sending constructive messages. So, to be honest the problem lies with the way people are using the app, and not on the developer's part. This is the reflection on how disgusting our society is getting every passing day. Apart from the cyber bullying aspect, there are also some security concerns for which using Sarahah is a risk. It should be noted that the app is still in developing stage and it may happen some day that you wake up in the morning to see that all the secret messages to sent to your friend has been leaked along with your name. It may also happen that hackers eye on Sarahah. These are some possibilities that can happen, this is because it has happened with a lot of apps earlier. So, using Sarahah diligently is a good idea.

There are many similar applications on Play store that allow people send anonymous messages like Sarahah. These apps should be used diligently, considering that the fact that they are designed for a purpose, mostly for fun. So, using it as a means of cyber bullying is wrong and is a criminal offense. It is also noteworthy that there's no app that keeps your identity a secret. In an instance of cyber bullying, the victim by the law of order can ask the app developer to reveal the identity of a particular person, and they are bound to do so.