Middle schoolers, blocked from other social media, have found an unlikely space to chat: the comments section of an NPR podcast. Host Ira Glass from This American Life explores their impromptu group chat, revealing how kids get resourceful when cut off from traditional platforms.
When Glass asked why they chose this particular podcast, one kid replied, 'We just, like, looked for podcasts that didn’t have many comments.' This, as Glass notes, inadvertently hurt his feelings, highlighting the naivety of such an approach.
Showrunner Dave Blanchard initially thought the comments were bots, due to their gibberish-like nature. After deleting them, he shared screenshots with NPR’s Slack, where producer Hannah Chin recognized the pattern. 'I was a kid who used weird parts of the internet not as they were originally designed to talk to my friends,' they said, illustrating how resourceful young users can be.
A similar scenario played out last year with Ted Radio Hour. This creative use of podcast comments showcases how kids adapt to new restrictions, finding ways to connect and maintain their social networks, no matter the digital roadblocks.
