Do Students Think School Problems are Accurately Portrayed by Social Media?

By Evan Pliego

       The world is filed with political problems, more now than ever. Social media has been a large part of politics today, whether it’s considered a benefactor and supporter of modern day politics, or it’s considered to be working against and breaking down politics. Social media has also crept into school based political problems. For example, some people believe that young transgender men and women are using the wrong bathrooms in schools, and should be using the bathrooms that correlate with their sex assigned at birth, because of the worry that someone might put on a front of being transgender so they can peep or intrude on other students.

     I wondered if students believed social media was getting an accurate picture of the major problems going on in schools. I asked 3 Seniors at Benicia High School 8 questions to see how they felt about the current situation. Some of them said that they are very open about their political opinions, yet most felt that they didn’t have a say in what happened in major school problems. All 3 students felt that the school has its own sphere of political problems, and that adults and the rest of the world are interpreting school based problems incorrectly, or have incorrect opinions on the school. One of the interviewed students even said, “My mom thinks she [knows everything about school based problems,] but she doesn’t.” I then asked if the media was discussing the correct problems for schools. One of the students said, “I guess yes, but…the media exaggerates [the issues.]” 

     At the end, I asked the students what problems they think actually apply to schools. Some that were stated were guns, banned books, smoking in bathrooms, and bathroom fornication, along with a more in-depth problem: “Teachers with biased opinions [can] enforce their personal beliefs onto other students, which affects the rules and format of the school. I feel like the media doesn’t show it accurately.” Clearly, the students believed that social media doesn’t quite get the full picture or understand political problems when dealing with schools.