Member-only story
How Middle School Subverted Instagram’s Slider Emoji Tool
The company’s good intentions aren’t enough to stop abuse
Co-authored with Rory Selinger
Middle school is hell. That’s why the R-rated movie Eighth Grade, a dramedy whose main character is a social media-savvy teen, was celebrated as an opportunity for parents and kids to talk honestly about all kinds of uncomfortable subjects, including “mean-girl behavior.” (And yes, of course, boys can be just as obnoxious and backstabbing as girls, even if that phrase has become shorthand for relational aggression since 2004.)
Currently, middle school kids (and probably others as well) are egging on their classmates to answer a baited question online: How much do you think I like you? Spoiler alert: This existential land mine, filled with questionable consent mechanisms, hasn’t become a trend because it’s a confidence-boosting exercise.
We’re going to shed some light on what this mind-reading quiz means in our first dad-daughter collaboration. I’m a fortysomething philosophy professor who teaches and writes about ethics and technology, and my daughter Rory is in seventh grade. Dadsplaining may be involved.
