Gas: The App Where Young Users Compliment Each Other | WSJ Tech News Briefing

Gas has become one of the hottest social-media apps by encouraging teens to say positive things to each other. But will its popularity last? And how can it turn its demand with teens into a profitable business?
WSJ personal-tech reporter Ann-Marie Alcántara joins host Zoe Thomas to discuss why Gas has caught on and what happened to a similar app its founders created years ago.
www.wsj.com/ar...
Photo: The Wall Street Journal; iStock; Gas App
For more episodes of WSJ’s Tech News Briefing: link.chtbl.com...
Visit the WSJ Podcast Center: on.wsj.com/3zT...
More from the Wall Street Journal:
Visit WSJ.com: www.wsj.com
Visit the WSJ Video Center: wsj.com/video
On Facebook: / videos
On Twitter: / wsj
On Snapchat: on.wsj.com/2ra...
#GasApp #SocialMedia #WSJ

[@swiftie456]

I have this app, it’s fun! And it’s anonomys, makes you feel good about yourself and you be truthful to others without them knowing

[@WhosZero]

Delete it bro it’s used for sex trafficking

[@KANI_APEXX]

It’s not anonymous

[@toiletgaming223]

@@KANI_APEXX my friend asked me to get it and i immediately looked up how to see who likes yo, just get a different phone number

[@josuesilva9409]

@@toiletgaming223 can you give me the steps on how to do it.

[@Xtreme0934]

@@toiletgaming223 your friends didn’t send you that the app did but they act like your friend did

[@wurthy]

a social media app that is positive towards one another? how such a thing?!!!

[@sakupearce8649]

It’s actually bad. This app steals ur information and people get kidnapped from this app

[@viv1877]

Is this not just a popularity contest like every other social media

[@ivorm9281]

thats what i thought

[@GBULL1982]

Right

[@worldsdarkest]

It’s just saying nice things about people, I think people are taking this too seriously.

[@GB-TX]

This app will still have a bad effect. There will always be the kids who want to be the "hottest" or the "funniest" and this app will have them wondering why they weren't selected... 😢

[@user-vq8on7dh1y]

Kids learn from such experience.😉

[@spol]

That’s life in a nutshell. They will have to learn how to handle not being as cool as they think they are.

[@worldsdarkest]

Your name is put in polls with your friends, or people who follow on there who follow you back.

[@trevortrevose9124]

Wsj never disappoints

[@foobars3816]

*always

[@meafterigotmyaccountdelete5633]

This app is getting pretty popular in my school right now.

[@YoUrBeHaViOriSOuGh99]

Same

[@cloudy9337]

Same lol

[@jaydibernardo4320]

Just what the world needs; another social media rabbit hole for kids & teens. Ugh.

[@vikhyatvij3507]

rabbit hole? nah, people are truthful on apps like bereal and gas. facebook, ig are the problems not this kind of stuff

[@JS_360NC]

old head

[@xe042]

@@JS_360NC 15 year old kid here. i agree with jay's statement

[@BudgetFilms5714]

Oldhead

[@Its-Just-Gizmo]

This made me feel old and I'm a millennial.

[@AnythingLounge]

Bruh I feel old and I’m in my early 20s

[@kyle_vr]

I feel it endorses external validation. If you aren't continously selected you may begin to question your self-worth 🤔🤷‍♂️

[@GBULL1982]

True

[@organizedchaos4559]

Gas doesn’t look like it will be sustainable

[@adolfolopezmartinez3696]

Huge fan of WSJ!!!

[@mastersinr]

seems like another app to get validation tbh. you dont need validation from strangers. another waste of time.

[@jorgewilkes4426]

Just the info I needed thanks✅

[@lexsmith7821]

My girl Zoe T is back !!!!!! :)

[@amitahuja2754]

How about having real people physically present, and then being nice to each other in ways that include compliments? Wouldn't that be cool? And how about when the app start reducing the "likes" systematically and forcing a teen to feel worthless because of thier opinions?

[@toiletgaming223]

Well the problem is, you can’t compliment someone in elementary school through middle school without our hearing nothing but that name for the next 5 years

[@AnythingLounge]

How about be part of the cause and make a change instead of complaining on the Internet not doing nothing positive for the world

[@Bmarie9445]

Formspring in middle school was the epitome of bullying . Cool to see this.

[@fornello123]

The interviewee has an annoying drawling voice

[@edwinbrace4681]

Zoe Thomas is back !

[@baconfootball3995]

When your a teen that has no clue what this app is

[@zinoo2942]

Apparently it isn’t safe because it tracks you and people have found ways to see people locations.

[@samanthamendoza6538]

Someone where I live sent out an email and when word got out all the results stopped coming so I’m guessing everyone from my area removed it

[@tomasteixeira4582]

It’s sooo fun

[@WhosZero]

Delete it bro it’s used for sec trafficking

[@realmsunreal]

Oh god no... we are literally living in a bad futuristic teen dystopian movie now...

[@ChArleS-cf8sz]

everytime I try and sign up it tells me that the username I use is inappropriate even though it is the username they suggested. Does anyone know how to fix this ??

[@neelyram3354]

Wasn’t there an app just like this in like 2017?

[@AnythingLounge]

No

[@meesha6723]

Yes I think

[@omegamemer69420]

This is legit just a reskinned simp app, don’t download it, It was taken off the appstore for a reason

[@jdotmcfly6184]

THIS APP IS JUST LIKE THE SIMP APP DO NOT DOWNLOAD IT

[@szymonulhurski1]

How to find it on Android? Gas app don't show results in Poland, Europe

[@Mehmehx]

What about reality?

[@CleenisNOThere]

Fr

[@arcticfox7198]

Wow.. That's scary

[@shannasubing1833]

its a fun app… nothing dangerous about it. people just dont like people having fun ig

[@GBULL1982]

Not dangerous? Just having fun? The internet will just collect the way you think and feel and next thing you know, you will be getting negative energy sent your way

[@BudgetFilms5714]

@@GBULL1982get off youtube then 😂😂😂

[@1911dawg]

This app has genius marketing… obviously snap chat understood their audience l, however as an actual app it’s kinda dogshit

[@buckdaman8493]

What about for old users :(

[@felixal]

Privacy first COPE

[@poornaharjani7962]

Horrible robotic videos

[@farazshaikh7628]

oh, wow such a Karen accent from Ann-marie. Couldn't stop laughing

[@auro1986]

wsj, rename it to fart

[@Swissy_Chris]

W app

[@_JudgeDredd]

🤦‍♂️

[@ronswanson1204]

This was literally already a thing years ago. It was called the tbh app

[@FrOsTyBeArKiD]

Yah and Facebook bought it and shut it down

[@bobthemagicmoose]

Listen to the podcast first 😉

[@SorminaESar]

I am so late to listened Zoe's voice on WSJ, never mind. It sounds special voice. Social media give us positif or negatif comments, haters and lovers hence don't hit or beat anyone just red and listen the comments and opinions. Enough

[@miakialchemy]

sounds like a social credit score inroad...and now, disappointingly, wsj pushes.

[@n3wt]

First

[@trumpetaa07]

lol

[@casualthegreat]

Not first

[@savannahanthony9671]

Its a sex trafficking app.

[@juanguevara4312]

I’m not disagreeing, I don’t even have the app, I just want to know how? Two people had already sent me links via text message and I am still very skeptical about the app. I most likely will not download it.

[@GBULL1982]

Yes it is and they’re targeting girls

[@adielanderson4636]

@@juanguevara4312 same fr

[@azizkash286]

trash application, so like the rest of social media. Social media is a scorge on society

[@klutchedup9]

Bruh KZbin is social media too

[@saantii]

first

[@oktokrush]

No