March 29, 2024
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Koko: A Social Network To Help You Deal With Stress

There is a new player in the crowded field of social networks: meet Koko, a social network that lets you speak your mind to help you relieve yourself of stress and emotional trauma.

Sounds interesting? Koko is not a social network wherein you would create a public profile, upload your pictures, tag friends and chat with them. Instead, it follows a reddit-like model, but adds a Facebook-like sense of approval to it.

Here is how Koko describes itself:

Koko helps you navigate through stressful thoughts and find your way forward.

Here is how Koko works: you choose a topic of concern (say, work, education, family, relationship, etc.) and then write a few statements about whatever it is that might be troubling you. Next, you mention your worst-case outcome of the given situation, and then post it. Now, whenever someone sees your post, and they feel they can add something to help you feel better, they just need to click the “Rethink” button, and add their own views about your situation.

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Responses to posts can be upvoted (though there is no downvote option), and Koko’s algorithm monitors responses in real-time to check for potentially unwanted comments.

Very clearly, Koko focuses on mental health of its users, and relies on a very straightforward psychological approach to the problem. By allowing anonymous posts, it lets you share your views, and by allowing anonymous replies, it lets you get advice from people around the world.

As of now, Koko is available only for iOS devices, and Android version is yet to be announced.

What do you think of Koko and its take on social networking? Will you be giving it a spin? Share your views in the comments below!

Sufyan bin Uzayr is a writer, developer, and coffee-lover. He has authored several books and writes for various publications. You can learn more about his work at his website.

One Comment

  1. Luh Dewi Reply

    Although a different platform, Koko seems similar in concept to Quora. Quora has an app for many devices, it allows people to ask / answer anonymously, and some very well-known people / professionals are already on Quora answering questions there from famous actors, scientists, doctors, engineers, etc. Perhaps a more simplified Koko might be popular because there is no need to create a profile. I only wonder how good the algorithm truly is to stop “unwanted comments”. Sometimes, the best advice isnt the one thats ‘wanted’, but the one that needs to be said.

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