Teenagers invented a social norm on Twitter called the “follower ratio." They worry about following more people than those who are following them back. It's a sign of status to have more people reading your tweets than tweets you're reading. We see this phenomenon on Instagram and Snapchat too. On Snapchat it's slightly different, it's a fear that a teen sends more snaps than he or she receives.
Because of the social status associated with ratios, teenagers are using Twitter incorrectly and it's stunting their intellectual development. I have written about how teenagers can learn tons of valuable information from Twitter. Twitter is an amazing global network that has an endless flow of information to feed any person’s intellectual passion. But the biggest barrier teenagers face to their ability to learn on Twitter is their reluctance to allow their following ratio to balloon. To do so would deflate their social confidence. As a result, teens only receive updates from their friends and accounts dedicated to reaching teens with quotes, gifs and memes. Twitter becomes an echo chamber of social anxiety and pressure. As a result, they'd much rather converse with multimedia on apps like Snapchat, Instagram, or Vine rather than use Twitter for educational purposes.
The only way for teens to learn on Twitter is for them to enter the global space where they can read, form opinions, curate and share content, and create their original work. If we can't get our teens to add stuff like Vox, Slate, Mashable, the New York Times and FiveThirtyEight to their Twitter feeds, we're robbing them of valuable knowledge that they could gain every time they log in.
In addition to following content, we need to guide our teenagers into academic hashtags, as hashtags can be robust learning spaces. Ironically, most teenagers don't even know how to use a hashtag; I'd estimate one tweet in 100 for teenagers actually goes to a hashtag to backchannel something interesting or meaningful to them (and I'm being generous). Instead, teens use hashtags for a throwaway joke on the back-end of a tweet. That Twitter doesn't sound like much fun. I would leave Twitter for other social media apps too if that's all I saw on it too.
That's where we, as mentors, have to step in. There's information on Twitter. There’s a wealth of fascinating subjects about which one can learn on Twitter. There's a tremendous intellectual world out there that can enhance users’ knowledge, creativity, critical thinking, and technological literacy skills. Twitter is not Snapchat, Instagram, or Vine, which are overwhelmingly filled with silly (and time-consuming) photographs and videos.
Teenagers should use some of their social media time learning, and Twitter should be the vehicle through which they do so. Of course, Twitter, needs young users to love its product. Perhaps if the company and its supports can dispel this silly "ratio" issue with teenagers. It will take effort from both the company and teachers, parents and mentors in communities around the country. If we can help students find the accounts and hashtags that deliver learning, we can help Twitter regain its place in society as a democratic, global learning network that we have loved since its inception in 2006--and that helped usher in important events and conversations like the Arab Spring and the Black Lives Matter movement.
We, as a society, are in a similar place we always are with Teens. Teens get too concerned with their social life and it hinders their intellectual development. We can make a change on social media--a place where teenagers want to spend their time. Let's talk to our teens about Twitter, dispel the notion of a "ratio," tap into the great global network and let the learning begin.
