Teenagers Explain How Politics Works on Social Media

Hey, it’s Josh. One of the great mysteries of adult life is what teenagers are doing online. Twice in the last two months, a group of students at Portola High School in Irvine, California, have generously looked up from their devices and attempted to explain to me what things have been like during a presidential election and a warped school year taking place in the middle of a pandemic.

The most recent conversation came last week, following the first presidential debate and Donald Trump’s hospitalization for Covid-19. The kids I spoke to, who ranged in age from 15 to 17, had various levels of interest in politics, and nearly all of them said political discussion had taken over the timelines of their favorite social media networks. (In roughly descending order, the group’s preferred apps were Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Twitter. More on Facebook in a second.)