Let me start with what I imagine is a pretty radical opinion: I don’t think anyone below 18 should be allowed to access Twitter.
Turns out quite a few people agree with me, albeit to varying extents. Now, I’m not married to this opinion, but I used to be on Twitter (or X–I’m calling it Twitter for posterity’s sake) a ton. While it was a fantastic site for sharing art, quick access to news, and memes, the amount of vitriol and toxicity that could permeate into previously safe spaces made me genuinely worry for the mental health of teens whose brains are still developing. I mean, you don't know if the person you’re arguing with is 13 or 30. You also don’t know how far the person you’re arguing with is willing to go to defend their opinion–they might be content to just drop the beef, or they might come crawling into your private messages to threaten you. Or they might share a screenshot of your conversation in an attempt to publicly shame you. Not exactly the type of thing I imagine a teen already busy with school, possibly work, and just you know, finding themselves wants to be dealing with. It’s also not something we should be teaching these kids is acceptable. Really, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
But enough of me being a moral arbitrator! In fact, this isn't what I really want to talk about. Truth is, teens are going to be on Twitter no matter what–and some, in fact, make no secret of it. They want their age to be known, for better or for worse. But is it up to us to decide which is which?
(Note that from now on, I’m going to be using the words “minor” and “teen” interchangeably.)
On Twitter, nobody knows you’re actually a multi-dimensional alien being. Or they do, because you’ve chosen to represent yourself as such. Perhaps you’re an artist, and chose to make your Twitter profile and banner a picture of your alien self. Or you may have, instead, commissioned someone to make art of your alien self. That’s the beauty of anonymous social media: you can be whoever you want. Some Twitter profiles dedicate themselves entirely to acting as a character of their choosing; others might treat it light-heartedly, using their personas more as branding. This is very common in fandom Twitter, where fans of certain media congregate to write about, share art, and even put on the persona of their favorite characters. But in their profile, we might see a glimpse as to the man (gender-neutral) behind the mask, as it were.
Perhaps our hypothetical multi-dimensional alien being has the words “minors DNI” in their profile. “DNI” stands for “do not interact." You can read a little more about it here, but in short, it means that the person behind this profile is probably an adult, and really does not want minors visiting their profile. Now, they can’t actually do much beyond expressing their preference–until they can, because quite a few minors do, in fact, make their age known. Some might put the word “minor” in their profile; others might outright state their age; others might, along with this information, have the words “please no weird DMs” in their profile.
Now, my first instinct is to say “oh god, why in the world would you paint such a target on your back?” I mean, isn’t this practically the same as stuffing your pockets full of bait and jumping into a shark-infested pool? Walking into an open field during a thunderstorm? Or, god forbid, putting your car into neutral instead of park, caught off-guard as it begins an unexpected jolt toward potential catastrophe? And these are such young and impressionable kids, too! What if they don’t realize the danger they’re opening themselves up to? Okay, well, surely they have to know that this gesture might invite multiple creeps into their DMs, lured by the vulnerable child beyond whatever persona they’ve chosen to present to the world, right?
But maybe they’re aware of all of this, and choose to do it anyway. Maybe they’re not the ignorant, impressionable kids we make them out to be.
It’s no question that teens are at a vulnerable stage in their life. They’re discovering themselves and their place in the world, and guidance is invaluable. But so is independence. In an age increasingly dominated by social media, where public space is often less accessible, that computer or phone might just be the only place where a teen can actually carve out a little niche for themselves. I mean, it’s a lot easier to talk about your “wacky” interests when the people you’re talking to don’t even know your name, or where you live. And in spaces predicated around connecting over a shared interest, the connections you form can be wonderfully authentic, unburdened by the need to perform the social role you might at school or home.
Of course this comes with risks. Announcing yourself as a minor on a public profile accessible by just about anyone is, well…I’m still not certain it’s a great idea. But I also understand the rationale behind it, or I think I might. It’s a way, ironically enough, of setting boundaries, of saying “I’m here, and I’m going to carve out this space for myself, consequences be damned.” Despite all my misgivings, I can’t help but admire it.
So, what do you think? Is it a good idea for teens to make their age known on social media? Or should we be sponsoring a Twitter for Teens, complete with out of touch pop culture references?
(I should note, by the way, that my little diatribe about multi-dimensional alien beings was issued in utmost fondness. The freedom online spaces give people to express themselves is very important, especially for those experimenting with their own identities.)
Hi Kristen, thanks for this amazing post! It was really well written and I enjoyed the alien part and your tone throughout. I agree that I'm torn about what the best course of action for teens is when they're on social media, especially a platform as divisive as Twitter. Having "minor" in their profile is good, as you say, on one hand because you'd have to be a pretty messed up person to bother them, but I also agree that it could be a target. My hope is that if teens are on these platforms, they're interacting with other people their age and there's a degree of privacy. But that also makes me worry that people with bad intentions could easily put "minor" in their bio and pretend to be someone they're not. I'm not sure if the teens at my library use Twitter/X or if that's more of a thing of the past, but I'd be curious to learn what they're using it for. If they are using it, I hope we can find ways to make it safer for them while also giving them the freedom to explore.
ReplyDeleteYou raise a really good point about bad actors pretending to be minors. Unfortunately, I feel like that's something that happens on all forms of social media. While I hate the idea of teens running into people with bad intentions, there also comes a point where we have to let them out into the world and take risks. I really mean to compare this to the way a parent might ordinarily be anxious about their child growing up, going to new places, and meeting new people. This anxiety is completely natural, but taking risks is part of the process of growing up. While teens definitely need a safe space for guidance if they do run into bad actors, it's also my hope--as it is yours--that they're finding spaces to safely and happily engage with other teens their age.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how many teens still use Twitter, but I do know that a lot of artists, both underage and adult, use it as a platform to share art and receive commissions. Many have moved to Bluesky, but I'm not sure if Bluesky yet provides the same visibility an artist might get on Twitter. I can see some teen artists maintaining a Twitter account for this reason.
Hey Kristen, thanks for such an intentional first blog! I love the way you captured so many layers about the topic of social media, such as Twitter, the attraction of anonymity, the consequences of it, and the dangers of interacting with a digital space that leaves minors vulnerable to literally anyone in the world (alien or otherwise), that can, based on any intended interest, search someone down. I don't know if the universe of twitter will be relevant for that much longer, as other platforms take their place, but I do know that so much of ongoing "online discussions" (aka online fighting) is best suited, and often found, there. I can't wait to do some further research on the information behaviors and socialization of teens with social media from an information science perspective. Thanks for the share!
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that Twitter might very well be past its heyday, considering the mass migration to Bluesky that I and many of my Twitter mutuals (aka, followers/associates) were caught up in. Of course, I can only speak for a specific slice of Twitter users--it's completely possible that there are plenty of teens still interested in Twitter outside of a "business" context (e.g. artists receiving commissions through Twitter), but it does seem like a decent chunk have moved on. Unfortunately, there's always going to be a risk that teens will run into bad actors--but thinking back on my experiences in online spaces as a young teen, I realize now that I was lucky to be interacting with a lot of adults who recognized I was young and looked out for me. It's a tricky balance--teens are naturally curious and like to push boundaries and experiment. While it might be tiresome as an older user to feel "responsible" for appropriately interacting with a teen, I do think we indeed have a collective responsibility to ensure that younger users are provided guidance as they learn to navigate online spaces. It's not so different from giving someone advice in-person, honestly!
DeleteHi Kristen, I really enjoyed reading your post! Twitter is pretty horrible these days, I myself had to delete the app because I didn't like what I was seeing on it. I agree that no one under the age of 18 should be on it, there is so much inappropriate content on there, not to mention all the cyber bullying that goes on. I can see the benefits to having their age on their profile, it is pretty transparent and kind of sets a boundary right away. On the other hand, I feel that it does make teens more vulnerable, and combine that with any other identifying things they post about, could lead to creeps locating them in real life. It's a tough call, and I dont think there is a universal consensus to this right now. I think ultimately it depends on the platform, how involved the parents are, and how much the teen understands about online safety.
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