Teens 'rebelling against social media', say headteachers

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41509402

by k-mcgrady • 9 years ago

112 79 9 years ago

bbc.co.uk

michaelmarion• 9 years ago

Took the plunge and deactivated my Facebook and Twitter accounts over a month ago.

I haven't missed them.

bigredhdl• 9 years ago

I haven't used facebook much for years now. Twitter might be next because while I like its ability to keep me up on many interests, the "lets take complicated issues and turn them into one liners" thing is souring me.

danjoc3• 9 years ago

Welcome to the club. I did this years ago.

That was sincere. I found it is hard to talk about it without being treated like a smug asshole. It's like everyone who hears you talk about it, even other people doing it, interpret you as a zealot extremist or something. For instance, if I didn't include this paragraph, I would be flag killed.

willismichael• 9 years ago

I made a goal to not sign into facebook for the summer of 2017 (I defined summer as all of June, July, and August). In September I signed back in and poked around a bit, only to feel like it was a waste of time and that I didn't have a compelling reason to stay.

Maybe I should try the same experiment with Hacker News and other online forums that I frequent.

heroprotagonist3• 9 years ago

Try asking other people not to put your photo on Facebook. More people are becoming understanding about that, but there's still a range of responses like incredulity, contempt, or the inevitable person who wants to turn it into some kind of debate of abstract principles.

ryandrake• 9 years ago

Why the need to talk about it? It's never occurred to me to go telling everyone I meet that I don't use FB. My friends already know that if they want to contact me, they can call or E-mail, so it generally never comes up in conversation.

evmar• 9 years ago

The comment "Welcome to the club. I did this years ago." in isolation contributes nothing to the conversation. If you had posted it I probably would've downvoted it for that reason, not for the smugness.

overcast6• 9 years ago

Same, Reddit was the big one. Facebook happened years ago. Twitter gone. LinkedIN is just garbage. All useless wastes of time. HN is the only community I actively participate in for personal. Instagram is business only.

dragontamer2• 9 years ago

Reddit is a community of communities. Certain subreddits are incredibly toxic. Others are not. /r/factorio is one of the best communities I've ever been a part of for example.

I guess the age-old rule applies. 90% of everything is crap.

anonacct37• 9 years ago

I really started to like instagram.

Basically I realized at some point that:

1. Facebook was family, and I really don't care about their constant drama. 2. Twitter, for better or worse, is so political. I care, but I just can't handle being outraged 24 hours a day. 3. Linkedin is a cesspool of wannabe self-help gurus.

Turns out that the only thing that I'd like to share that other people might actually be interested in or understand is pictures of the pretty places I hike to, or my kitchen experiments, and Instagram is great for that.

weeksie• 9 years ago

I haven't completely disconnected but I HAVE turned off all notifications for anything except for direct messages.

Lo and behold my usage rates dropped right off a cliff. I can now use Facebook and Twitter like they are tools for keeping in touch or reading news instead of compulsively checking them for that little endorphin rush (or rage vibe in some useless flame war).

yodsanklai• 9 years ago

I've found what I think is a good compromise. I don't ever post anything (and painfully deleted everything I've ever posted or liked) but I keep my account to stay in touch with some more distant friends via messenger (which can be used separately from facebook).

As for the notification feed, I've disciplined myself to hide permanently uninteresting content (e.g. friend showing off or too politically active). In the end, there's not much left besides annoying ads so I don't feel the urge to go there as often as I used too. Btw, is it me or there are a lot more ads compared to a year ago? I find them very intrusive.

jedberg• 9 years ago

Not surprising. My 18 year old cousin only seems to use Snapchat. He only got FB right before going to college so he could participate in the groups.

temp-dude-87844• 9 years ago

The captive social environment of school interacts with the captive social environment of social networks to extend the active hours during which Fear-of-Missing-Out and interpersonal conflicts can occur.

I'm sure teens would happily detox from school as well, if they were given the chance. Of course, social networks are always on your phone, even in the middle of the night. But chances are, if for some reason, someone were to have an entirely different stock of people on their Instagram than their school peers, the amount of social pressure experienced would be lessened. In fact, I'd posit that this can be seen with social networks like Tumblr, Twitch, and YouTube, where one is far more likely to cultivate interest-based friends than a mere combination of schoolmates and a few choice super-popular accounts.

pgeorgep• 9 years ago

At some point, the general population has to realize that the relationship with social media is pretty one-sided. It's an egregiously impersonal landscape with zero regards for personal well being. Plain and simple, social media companies exist to cash in on your personal data.

It's about time that a generation takes a stand.

SomeStupidPoint• 9 years ago

They actually sell your psychological well-being to advertisers after binning you based on personal data.

That's Facebook's business model (and what made them a useful stooge during the election).

oceanghost2• 9 years ago

It's not just the companies behind it that are a problem.

The concept of civil debate and discourse is, in large part a thing of the past. Issue any opinion, politely, well reasoned on facebook and you most likely be savaged.

TheSpiceIsLife• 9 years ago

In my experience there is plenty of civil debate and discourse going on, just that Facebook isn't where it's happening, except may be some closed groups.

Even in the small city I live in, population ~87,000, there are two regular philosophy meet ups and a skeptics group. The local state university hosts regular guest speakers. There is a tonne of podcasts and books produced from around the world with vastly differing opinions.

jdjeiiie310• 9 years ago

Better now than when civil discourse was considered “gentlemanly” pistol duels and the like?

Facebook flame wars seem rather tame by what used to be considered the civil way to resolve numerous types of disputes

Personally I quit social media and the world seems a lot kinder. Perhaps you need to just take a break

pavel_lishin• 9 years ago

At some point, the general population has to realize that the relationship with social media is pretty one-sided.

Sure, but most people use social media to maintain their relationships with people. Kids on Instagram aren't talking to Instagram - they're talking to their peers, friends, family.

pavement• 9 years ago

But that's not what's going on here. It's not that anyone has taken a stand against business motives or impersonal exploitation of incidental intimacy, within the context of this particular story.

In these anecdotes, the people mentioned are rebelling for different reasons, in an effort to control choices relating to personal habits, as they modify what are perceived as necessary social obligations and compulsory public behavior, when interacting with modern technology and devices.

woodandsteel2• 9 years ago

These are really two sides of the same coin. Commercial companies are getting people to behave in ways that are contrary to their own benefit. Now the people are starting to realize it, and are stopping. Soon the commercial companies will realize what is happening, and I guess go into some sort of panic.

gaius• 9 years ago

It's about time that a generation takes a stand.

The monetisation is one aspect of course but a lot of the toxicity of social media comes from its hyper-politicisation and virtue signalling which coincided with the Millenials coming online. The quality of the discourse was then radically different from Usenet, IRC and other proto-social media like Livejournal.

searine• 9 years ago

Because twitter and Facebook are full of their parents and other angry adults throwing fits about politics that are carved in digital stone.

That's not cool.

In an age where digital permanence is common, being ephemeral and mysterious is unique and luxurious.

Now, cool is having FB be a highlight reel, while you conduct actual socializing in private, protected spaces.

ferdbold• 9 years ago

That's pretty much how I'm approaching social media as well in my twenties.

I'm barely posting anything anymore on Facebook, but the Messenger groups I share with 10 or so of my closest friends are alive and well. I guess I just don't like the feeling of someone "butting in" into conversations meant for other people on Facebook posts. For the same reason I barely comment anything anymore on other people's posts, it just feels like walking on glass most of the time.

3452354326• 9 years ago

As a teenager (probably a bit younger than the average HN reader) there's definitely been a change in how we approach social media. Most kids now take advantage of privacy settings to moderate who can see what messages, often creating private or "fake" accounts that only a few friends can see that contrast with their "public" accounts. Ironically the "fake" accounts are more "real" due to the more honest and realistic posts that they only allow their friends to see. Even in public settings, people are moving away from only showing "perfect" images instead favoring a more realistic image.

zlynx• 9 years ago

With so many people wanting to abuse our social media profiles, it only makes sense to use fake accounts.

That way our "real" one looks OK to our employers, parents, acquaintances, etc. Our fake profiles can have all of what we actually think.

legitster• 9 years ago

Wouldn't all of the private groups and secret messages make it worse? School for me was cliquey enough as it was, without the assistance of technology. It seems this would blow that up by an order of magnitude..

hbosch• 9 years ago

often creating private or "fake" accounts that only a few friends can see that contrast with their "public" accounts

The younger sister of a family friend called this a "sin-stagram", but some people also call them by the more family-friendly "fun-stagrams" or "funstas". Kind of a hilarious concept, creating multiple social media accounts for multiple sides of your personality.

Coincidentally I was reading an article today about a YouTuber who was doing this same sort of thing. A famous, promoted, well-followed channel with his regular content (music reviews), and secondary accounts for alt-right meme commentary (which was shut down recently).

I guess it makes sense... but for some weird reason I find it weirdly grotesque*. It's like containerization for your life: stream my optimism to my family, stream my partying to my friends, stream my depression to strangers... keep them all separated and you have can maintain (and in the above YouTuber's case, monetize?) multiple digital lives.

Another interesting tidbit was a friend of mine who just graduated med school and started their residency. This person changed the names/handles on all their social media accounts, because patients have a habit of trying to search for their doctors on Facebook and Instagram. Apparently this causes issues from time to time in the doctor/patient relationship, so it's common practice among many in the medical field.

———

0. https://www.thefader.com/2017/10/03/needle-drop-deleted-yout...

nradov2• 9 years ago

Another common term is "finsta", as in "fake Instagram". In principle I don't see anything wrong with compartmentalization and maintaining different online identities, although it can be misused to hide some really ugly behavior.

Zarath• 9 years ago

As a thatistheplan subscriber and frequent watcher. I will say that while some of Anthony Fantano's political opinions could be considered in alignment with the alt-right, I definitely don't think he is a member (and in fact was likely a Bernie Sanders supporter). You can check some of his other commentary on channels such as fantano and theneedledrop and it's pretty clear his politics is much more nuanced than just being a member of the alt-right.

Can_Not• 9 years ago

You also have people who don't know whether or not their relatives finding out about a tattoo, a joint smoked once, a non-objectively-default religious belief, alternative sex/gender preferences/orientations, a non-ear peircing, a non-traditional gender role, etc. will result in being screamed at daily at home, conversion camps, homelessness, bullying, ruin the next 30 thanksgivings, and/or likely other forms of child abuse.

So I think it's grotesque that there is legitimate danger in being yourself.

cableshaft• 9 years ago

patients have a habit of trying to search for their doctors on Facebook and Instagram. Apparently this causes issues from time to time in the doctor/patient relationship, so it's common practice among many in the medical field.

Also very true for teachers, whose students will inevitably look them up. I have several teacher friends that either don't use social media at all, or have changed their names to make it harder for them to be found on there.

I keep in touch with them via a private group text, which I'm much more active on than social media.

Atheros• 9 years ago

This is an obvious effect of Mark Zuckerburg refusing to believe in privacy contexts. Users have routed around the problem by using different accounts themselves for the different privacy contexts.

Terr_• 9 years ago

As an older millennial, that feels more like a (beneficial) return to the past, where "On the Internet nobody knows you're a dog."

IMO the real issue isn't privacy controls per se, but the ability to keep disconnected identities. For example, I might not really care if a photo is visible to everybody, as long as it has no clues (location metadata, facial recognition, etc.) that allow someone to link it to my public persona.

ninju• 9 years ago

A little off-topic but wonder why there is, what appears to be, a camera attached to the girl in the last photo in the article?

DeepYogurt• 9 years ago

I feel like this is more about teens not wanting their social circles to include their parents/teachers/etc... than it is about any business motivation.

ionised• 9 years ago

Hmm, a slight replenishment of my faith in humanity. That was unexpected.

misterHN• 9 years ago

Facebook and Twitter are evil, period. Good kids.

Teens 'rebelling against social media', say headteachers

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