Middle schoolers and social media

Middle school students are as unique as they are nearly uniform in their use of technology.

This was my takeaway after a recent visit with a group of eighth graders at Boardman Middle School. My visit was part of a “future professions” day, and my talk was supposed to focus on my job as a college professor.

In the short time I was there, it was clear that these kids were trying to figure out their own identities, albeit dressed professionally and ready to conquer the business world. I’ll give them this: for eighth graders, they had style.

Our talk quickly devolved into a conversation about their smart phone use, social media and “cool” apps. They all had (or wanted) phones. They had favorite apps and games. I was shocked to learn that nearly all eighth graders had smart phones, some since fifth grade.

When I pressed with questions about what social media apps they used and why, some had opinions about technology, but most just looked around the room waiting for another kid to answer.

For some kids, middle school is a terrible experience. Most kids at this age are suffering through the tween rollercoaster, tossed side to side by puberty, dealing with the ups and downs of social pressures.

My oldest daughter is in fifth grade, and she tries to be a social kid, especially online with accounts we supervise. One of her favorite sites is Wattpad, a storytelling site that focuses on fan fiction, poems and other creative writing.

Although the Boardman students I met represent a small sample, most used Snapchat and Instagram, and a few used Twitter. They have their favorite games (Clash of Clans, Kim Kardashian Hollywood) and sites (Wattpad, Tumblr).

When asked about Facebook they said “No way.”

“Why?”

“Because Mom and Dad are there.”

Dr. Adam Earnheardt is chair of the department of communication at Youngstown State University. Follow him on Twitter at @adamearn and check out his blog at adamearn.com.