With recent (fiery) protests taking place up and down the country in many schools, due to a mass social media uproar, the question posed is quite blatant: what sort of impact is social media having on the next generation? Furthermore, is the world-wide use of social media driving a harder divide between both younger and older generations?

Schools across the country have been apprehending “rioting” students throughout the past week, as secondary school pupils continue to rage their war on toilet policies and dress codes. These protesting actions have been heavily influenced by the social media platform TikTok. A large amount of videos have been posted under the Hashtag “School Protest”. These videos have been instrumental in driving forward the movement amongst the younger generation and has been a remarkable way to get the word out and spread their ideas among other people of like-minds. The social media drive has been pivotal in growing support for the movement and creating a passionate group of young people who were prepared to raise their voice for what they believed in.

Statistics show that, as of 2021, just 2% of adults over 45 use TikTok. This is very polarising compared to the (just over) 40% of users aged 18-24 across the UK, that spend their time soaking up the content available through the app. This is a clear example of the sheer strength that social media has over the nation’s younger demographic and on top of this; it demonstrates the extortionate gap between the younger and older generation, a gap that will, surely, only grow with time. The country has a growing issue and the recent protests in UK schools are just the most recent examples of said problem. The problem is, most clearly, the younger generation’s lack of understanding for the older generation and vice-versa. If the country wishes to avoid further protests and showings of strength from members of the younger generation, than surely something must be done, but the question is, what?