Practically everyone has been on social media or at least knows what it is. Explore Middle School is not any different. The current definition of social media is “websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.” There can be pros and cons to social media as it’s entertaining, but you can be cyberbullied. 

Six students were asked four questions about social media: "Do you use social media? How long do you spend on social media? Do you have friends who use social media? Do you think social media harms or improves school friendships?"

Bullying was a common concern among students who saw social media as harmful.

Sixth grader Sara Alehiane said, “ I spend about two hours on it. Yes, I have friends who use social media. However, I think it harms people because they talk badly about each other on secret accounts.”

Sixth grader Enzo Echevarriarza said,  “Yes, it harms because of bullying; people can be bullied anonymously.”

Other students were not as concerned about bullying, or had not experienced .

Sixth grader Hannah Bradshaw said, ”As long as you separate your social life and what you do online, you shouldn’t have a problem.”

Sixth grader Sophie Peleg agrees with Bradshaw, saying, “No harm can come because no one really posts anything about each other.”

Eighth-grader Donovan Small feels that how one conducts themselves on social media is most important. 

“As long as you don't act like a jerk, you'll be fine,” he said.

Sixth grader Adriana Castillo had an in-depth explanation of why social media harms school friendships. 

“I think social media will harm student friendships because someone might post private photos or text messages,” she said. “They might have things you do not want to be shared and if it gets to everyone in the school including the victim they might get mad because their private information and people could post bad things about their friends and if they find out it could ruin their friendship.”

Overall, Explore Middle School is divided on whether social media harms school friendships. Half of the students interviewed said that social media harms school friendships, while the other half disagreed, saying it doesn’t harm school friendships.

Published to the Wolfpack Press: March 19, 2025.