What is slay anonymous polls? - Social Media Lessons

Slay anonymous polls are a feature found on the social media app Slay. They allow users to create polls and surveys that respondents can answer anonymously. The polls and survey results are only visible to the poll creator, providing anonymity for the respondents.

What is Slay?

Slay is a social media app launched in 2019 that bills itself as “an anonymous messaging app for BIPOC and marginalized groups.” The app allows users to post short messages, photos, videos, and polls anonymously without the use of usernames or profile pictures. The goal is to create a safe space for marginalized groups to share content without fear of being harassed or facing discrimination.

Some of the key features of Slay include:

Anonymous posting – All posts on Slay are anonymous and do not show the user’s name, profile picture, or any other identifying information.
Upvoting/downvoting – Users can upvote or downvote content to sort what’s trending and popular.
Hashtag browsing – Users can browse hashtags to find related content and join topic-specific communities.

Group chats – Slay has community group chats focused on specific identities and interests.
Anonymous polls – Users can create anonymous polls and surveys to get feedback from the Slay community.

The app gained significant popularity amongst Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities in particular as a space to candidly discuss social justice issues and connect with others who have had similar experiences.

Who can use Slay anonymous polls?

Any user registered on the Slay app can create and respond to anonymous polls. When signing up for a Slay account, users are prompted to confirm they are a member of a marginalized community, but no other identity verification is required.

Some key facts about who can use Slay polls:

Users must be 18+ to sign up for Slay.

Users select their marginalized identities during signup but remain anonymous on the platform.
The app is intended for BIPOC users but people of all backgrounds use it.
Users do not need a large following or number of posts to create polls.

Anyone on Slay can anonymously respond to polls posted by others.

So while Slay aims to center marginalized voices, anyone who creates an account can participate in posting content and taking polls anonymously.

How do you create an anonymous poll on Slay?

Creating polls on Slay is a quick and easy process accessible to any user. Here are the steps to create an anonymous Slay poll:

Tap the ‘+’ icon to create a new post
Select the ‘Poll’ post type
Enter your question or prompt for the poll

Input your poll answer choices (you can have up to four)
Tap ‘Post’ to publish your poll

When posting a poll, users can also add hashtags or enter a caption with more context just like a regular Slay post. The poll will then appear anonymously on the app’s main feed and Explore page for other users to find and answer.

Poll Options

Slay provides a few different options when creating polls:

Multiple choice – Let respondents select one or more of the answer choices
Percentage – See what percentage of users choose each option

Anonymous – Keep all responses anonymous (always enabled)
Single Image – Add one photo to your poll post

These options allow poll creators flexibility in how they want to ask and display questions. The anonymous setting is permanently enabled for all Slay polls.

Poll Duration

Polls can run on Slay for 1, 3, or 7 days. The default duration is 1 day. Users can choose a longer duration when posting to allow more time for responses.

After the poll ends, the creator can still see the results but the poll stops accepting responses. There is no way to actively delete or remove polls once posted.

How do you see poll results on Slay?

Only the original poll creator can view the results and insights for their posted polls. Other Slay users can respond to and vote in polls anonymously but cannot see the overall results.

To view poll results as the poll creator:

Tap your profile icon
Select ‘Your Polls’ from the menu

Tap any of your polls to see the results

The results will show the total number of votes for each option, along with percentages if you selected that poll type. You can scroll through the results of all your posted polls.

Insights Data

In addition to responses, Slay provides creators with data insights on polls including:

Number of unique voters
Total impressions (views)
Average vote time

Peak response times

This supplemental data can help poll creators better understand user behavior and engagement with their polls.

Exporting Results

There is no built-in way to export the raw results or data from Slay polls. Users would need to manually record or screenshot results to analyze them outside the app.

What are Slay polls used for?

Slay polls enable users to crowdsource opinions, feedback, and information anonymously from the app’s communities. Some common uses of Slay polls include:

Getting opinions – e.g. “Which travel destination is the best?”
Making decisions – e.g. “Should I ask for a raise at work?”

Settling debates – e.g. “Is a hot dog a sandwich?”
Advice – e.g. “How should I respond to this racist incident?”
Confessions – e.g. “Who else hates their job?”

Trend discovery – e.g. “What’s your favorite meme right now?”
Research/data collection – e.g. polling marginalized groups on their experiences

The anonymity allows users to ask sensitive questions and get candid feedback. Polls frequently spark discussion as users make additional posts about the topics.

Identity-Based Questions

Given Slay’s target user base, polls often focus on issues of race, gender, sexuality, and other marginalized identities. For example:

“Fellow women, what’s your craziest period story?”
“Black folks, name a subtle thing that gives away anti-Blackness.”

“Who else isn’t straight but pretends to be?”

These types of personal, identity-centered questions tend to perform very well on Slay as users bond over shared experiences.

Why are Slay polls anonymous?

Anonymity is a core feature across all parts of the Slay app. For polls specifically, anonymity serves some key purposes:

Allows honest/unfiltered feedback – Users aren’t worried about being judged

Protects privacy and safety – No identities are revealed even privately
Reduces biases – Opinions are shared without assumptions based on identity
Focuses on ideas – Anonymity keeps the focus on content instead of users

Anonymity helps create an environment where Slay users feel comfortable engaging openly and honestly with polls on a wide range of topics.

Honest Feedback

Being anonymous removes social pressures that can influence how people respond to polls in public spaces. Slay users can be open about opinions that may be controversial, unpopular, explicit, or embarrassing with zero reputational risk.

User Privacy and Safety

Complete anonymity also protects users’ privacy and safety. Even poll creators have no way to identify who responded or how they voted. This allows marginalized users to share information safely without it being tracked back to them.

Reducing Biases

With all responses being anonymous, Slay polling removes some biases that users bring when visibly interacting. Identity cues like profile photos, usernames, follower counts, etc. that can unconsciously bias interactions are absent.

Focus on Content

When personality and identities are removed from the equation, the focus lands firmly on the poll questions and responses themselves. Slay polls distill interacting down to just the core ideas and opinions being shared between strangers.

What are the pros and cons of Slay anonymous polls?

Slay polls provide some unique benefits but also have disadvantages to consider.

Pros

Get unfiltered, honest feedback
Safe space for marginalized users
Tap into Slay’s passionate user base for engagement

Quick and easy to create polls
Gain insights through supplemental data
Inspire further discussion on topics

Cons

No oversight on poll content
Possibility of abusive/harmful polls
No exporting of results

Biased responses from Slay’s user demographics
Difficult to verify accuracy of results
Poll results only visible to creator

Overall, Slay polls provide an unmoderated direct line to an active community, for better or worse depending on use cases.

Controversies around Slay polls

Slay polls have generated some controversies stemming mainly from the lack of content moderation and oversight when users can post polls anonymously.

Misinformation

Critics have accused some Slay polls of spreading misinformation, especially around medical topics. Without fact checking or admin oversight, inaccurate or potentially harmful polls may not get removed.

Harassment

There have been reports of users creating polls intended to harass or cyberbully individuals, even threatening violence in extreme cases.

Hate Speech

Offensive polls targeting marginalized groups have occurred, going against Slay’s mission but allowed under the app’s expansive anonymity policies.

Dangerous Challenges

Viral challenge polls have been accused of encouraging dangerous or illegal behavior among teens on the app.

While Slay provides warnings about misusing the platform, the anonymous nature of polls makes it difficult to moderate concerning content. Critics argue Slay needs stronger protections, especially for younger users.

Notable Slay polls

Some Slay polls that have gone viral or sparked significant conversation include:

“Is water wet?”

This poll question ignited a heated debate on the app last year, garnering over 50,000 responses. The discourse dissected the science and semantics behind defining water as a “wet” substance.

“Should schools teach Black history?”

Polling on this issue showed overwhelming support (92%) for expanding Black history education. Many users shared personal stories of lacking representation in school curriculums.

“How do you subtly resist white supremacy?”

This poll compiled a list of thought-provoking micro resistances like buying from Black-owned brands and challenging racist jokes.

“Is astrology real?”

Passionate arguments arose on both sides of this poll, which astrology believers won by a slim majority. The discourse extended across hundreds of responsorial posts.

“Do you support student loan forgiveness?”

Polling results showed 60% in favor prior to Biden’s forgiveness plan announcement. Post-announcement polls showed even higher support.

Significant Slay poll statistics

Here are some key statistics around Slay polls and users:

Over 3 million Slay users have responded to polls

The most popular polls get 10,000-50,000 responses
18-24 year olds are the most active polling age group
Social and political polls see the highest engagement

Polls with media/entertainment tie-ins go viral fastest
Polls posted on Fridays and Saturdays get the most votes
15% of daily active Slay users have created a poll

Peak poll response times are 9-11pm in the user’s timezone

As the app continues rapidly growing, polling is becoming one of the most popular ways Slay users interact. The anonymous nature allows marginalized groups to discuss issues and express opinions in a judgement-free environment.

Conclusion

Slay anonymous polls have become a defining feature of the buzzy new app. They provide an unfiltered look into the opinions and interests of Slay’s millions of diverse users. While anonymity enables candid conversations, it also comes with risks if polls are abused. Overall the polls showcase how anonymity can power meaningful interactions and community building around shared identities and experiences.