Many people view social media as a negative thing, especially when discussing its effect on the mental health of teenagers. Some teens say they don’t get enough sleep because they spend so much time on it, while others say it’s a source of distraction. However, it is a well-known fact, that the most negative effect of social media is the bullying that ensues when people go on apps such as Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

Now, there is a new app that is only available on Apple iOS for the time being. The app is called “Gas”, and by using daily polls that refresh hourly, it helps spread positivity amongst teens. At Eleanor Roosevelt High School, students use the app to compliment their friends.

To use Gas, you must put in your name, address, school, contact list, and other personal information. The app automatically generates questions, such as “Who gives the best advice?” or “Who do you want to get to know better?” You have to choose one of four people for that poll, and whoever wins the vote gets a notification in their Inbox saying you got “gassed,” hence the name. Despite its intention of bringing students together, scholars at Eleanor Roosevelt High School have mixed feelings about the app.

Since “Gas” isn’t available on Android yet, some students feel left out. Sophomore Ella Childress “feels left out of group chats or iMessage because I have an Android,” she comments. Other students don’t like it simply because they think it’s pointless. Freshman Charis Moore doesn’t have “Gas” but has friends who have the app, and she says she doesn’t like the app because people have “better things to do with [their] day, and [they] choose to be on an app that does something that [they] could easily do in person.”

Meanwhile, some students like the app because it allows them to take a break from school life. Junior Chesa Filomeno enjoys “Gas” because “it can be a good way to spend five minutes just to take a break and have fun answering silly questions.” “Gas” can also work as a source of connection between students. An anonymous freshman thinks, “it’s cool how you get to see how people wonder and understand you.”

More students can go check out “Gas” for themselves as it becomes available in more states (and app stores). Whether they like it or not after seeing it for themselves, that’s their choice. However, with this app and more, hopefully, social media apps will soon become more positively regarded.