By Eshaan Mani, sophomore, Houston, Texas
On December 17, 2021, students across the nation were bound together by a viral threat on social media.
I first learned about the threat the night before from a friend’s text. My friend attends a public school in the Fort Bend Independent School District (ISD) in Texas, and he sent me a screenshot of the ISD website. Blazoned across the homepage was an announcement declaring that students would not be allowed to bring backpacks to school on December 17, due to threats to the school’s security.
Law enforcement officials said they were responding to TikTok threats warning of nationwide school violence on December 17, 2021. Later it was found that there were videos warning of the dangers of going to school on December 17. Only one suspicious video was flagged by law enforcement, and even in this video no specific school was threatened; the initials of a California school were listed on the screen with some threatening language. In a multi-part Twitter thread on December 17, TikTok issued a statement that it had not identified any videos making specific threats.
But even though the “threats” on TikTok turned out to be baseless, the reports of threats were self-perpetuating on the TikTok platform. Videos warning students to skip school prompted others to create similar videos. The only reason worries about school safety spread was that so many people across the country saw these cautionary videos . And throughout the day, new videos surfaced on TikTok with additional warnings containing a mix of fact and fear-mongering fiction.
As misinformation spread, worried families with school-aged children lit up my parents’ Facebook feed, an ironic act in itself as worried parents turned to the very source of the troubling rumor for a solution.
As misinformation spread, worried families with school-aged children lit up my parents’ Facebook feed...
I sat anxiously hoping that my friends would be safe on their last day of school ahead of the winter holidays. I remember waking up to the blaring of sirens as Ford Police Interceptors whizzed by my home in the early hours of the morning, establishing a perimeter around the local high school. Throughout the day, footage of students being pulled for checks and police officers frantically pacing in front of carpool lines filled newsfeeds. Luckily, there were no real security breaches. It was all a sick, twisted prank.
Previous generations may have been brought together by shared experiences, watching TV shows and films and celebrating historic events together. However, this generation — my generation — is most often bound by shared social media trends, fads and posts, which can be both positive and negative experiences.
However, this generation — my generation — is most often bound by shared social media trends, fads and posts, which can be both positive and negative experiences.
Though our community was pushed toward panic for a day due to social media rumors, at other times social media has helped bring the community together or even heal. During the concert at the Houston venue Astroworld, several individuals lost their lives during a crowd crush. Many of those killed were high school age. Many of my peers were in a state of mental angst after news broke of the incident, which included the death of Houston's Memorial High School freshman John Hilgert.
Virtual counseling sessions, grief support groups and even Instagram and Facebook direct message groups served as ways for those who lost a loved one to express their grief together. After a social media petition and posts circulated, our school’s student governing council declared a day of mourning for Hilgert, where all students were encouraged to wear green, his favorite color, to school. Landmarks around Houston were all lit up in bright green as well, including Memorial City Mall.
In just one year, we experienced the power of social media to push a community toward rumor and panic and bring it together. As I spoke with friends, family and acquaintances about the viral threat on schools, I saw how a single, short clip on TikTok had set all of them on edge, even leading one of my family members to delete the app from their kids’ phones, so they wouldn’t be exposed to these threats.
In just one year, we experienced the power of social media to push a community toward rumor and panic and bring it together.
But you can’t just delete a social media app and flush the problems down the drain. Teens will still hear about these trends from friends and acquaintances and may make irrational decisions to partake in them. Schools around Houston would have still tightened security and rumors would still spread even if some or many students were off social media.
Instead, we must encourage media literacy, teaching users to distinguish fact from fiction and to use the connectivity of social media positively and to think about ways social posts can cause unnecessary anxiety.
Social media has taken on a new, powerful role in society. It’s Gorilla Glue’s greatest competitor, and it operates on the same principles: use it wisely and you can bring factions together, but misuse it, and you’ll end up in a sticky situation that will have emotions and tensions running high.
Eshaan Mani is a sophomore at The Kinkaid School in Houston, Texas with a passion for storytelling across different media. In his free time, he enjoys filming and editing videos, playing an Indian drum called the dhol and learning wherever, whenever and with whatever he can. He also devotes time to volunteering with nonprofit organizations, especially those focused on literacy and education.
