What inner city kids know about social media

This piece by Jacqui Cheng about her experience watching kids from inner city Chicago navigate social media is interesting thoughout, but the way they use account deletion to turn Facebook into something a bit more like Snapchat is super-clever and savvy.

For example, did you know that many teens “delete” their Facebook accounts altogether every time the rest of us would just log out? They’re taking advantage of the fact that Facebook actually keeps much of your account information on its servers when you decide to “leave” the service, allowing them to stay under the radar from nosy friend, parent, or public searches while they’re not online. Their photos disappear and their status updates go on the down-low-at least until the next time they log back in by re-activating their accounts.

How long before we see a social networking app where your info is only visible when you’re actively online? And maybe you can pay to increase your visibility beyond those bounds?

• Facebook
• Jacqui Cheng