By Kerry Gallagher
The New York Times is in the midst of the Headway Election Challenge series, asking teens about the role of social media in the election. Here are some quotes from 17-year-old students in their stories so far:
- Double-Edged Sword: “I feel like social media is such a double-edged sword when it comes to involvement. On the one hand, it’s amazing that anyone can produce content and share with the world about their views, but it’s also kind of terrible at the same time, because you have people who are making content that’s sensationalized, that’s meant to get likes and angry comments.”
- Think for Myself: “At some point, you have to put your phone down and be like, ‘What do I think about this issue? What are my opinions? What are my moral standings on this that lead me to a specific conclusion? Because if you don’t do that, you get a bunch of the exact same voices parroting something that we think is supposed to be right, which makes it kind of impossible to have meaningful discussions.”
Ask your teens what they think of the headlines, TikToks, memes, and comment streams they see about the election when they are online. What is the thinking process for a responsible voter when they see content like this? How can it shape decisions for better or worse?