In an unexpected twist, middle schoolers have discovered a unique social space within NPR’s comment section, a venue that parents have long sought to shield their children from mainstream social media.
During a recent episode of the podcast “This American Life,” host Ira Glass shared insights from the production team behind NPR’s “Wild Card” podcast. Last fall, they were taken aback by a sudden influx of strange comments beneath their episodes on Spotify. Initially, a producer suspected these peculiar messages, filled with cryptic abbreviations and emojis, were the work of bots, prompting them to share these findings in NPR’s internal Slack channel and notify Spotify.
However, Hannah Chin, an audio producer and member of Gen Z, quickly identified these comments as the handiwork of middle schoolers rather than automated traffic. Glass recounted her realization that these kids, too young for social media, had created a sort of group chat within the podcast’s comment section. This behavior is reminiscent of similar instances where younger audiences have utilized comment sections on platforms like the TED Radio Hour.
When Glass reached out to one of the young users to understand their motives, he received a candid response typical of a middle schooler: “Um, I think we just, like, looked for podcasts that didn’t have many comments.”
Ira Glass, who has been at the helm of “This American Life” for 30 years, humorously remarked on the revelation, stating, “I do a public radio show, and that hurts a little to hear.”
