● Covered by 3 sources · 3 reportsLow impact3 neutral
Middle Schoolers Use NPR Podcast Comment Sections as Social Media Alternative
Key points
- NPR staff noticed unusual comments on their "Wild Card" podcast.
- A Gen Z producer identified the comments as middle schoolers' chat.
- Students chose NPR podcasts due to low existing comment activity.
- This behavior was also observed on TED Radio Hour previously.
- The comments were on NPR's Wild Card podcast on Spotify.
- The incident was discussed on a new episode of This American Life.
- Ira Glass hosted the This American Life episode.
- Showrunner Dave Blanchard initially thought the comments were from bots.
- Dave Blanchard deleted the initial comments.
- One account posted 'so it deleted my com' after comments were deleted.
- Dave Blanchard shared screenshots of the comments in NPR's Slack.
- Dave Blanchard runs the Wild Card public radio show.
- The comments were on an episode with writer Elizabeth Gilbert.
- Dave Blanchard initially thought the comments were gibberish.
Discovery of Unusual Comment Activity
Last fall, the team behind NPR’s podcast “Wild Card” observed a surge of perplexing comments on their Spotify episodes. Initially, a producer suspected these comments, characterized by unusual abbreviations and emojis, were bot traffic and reported them to Spotify.
Identification by Gen Z Colleague
Hannah Chin, an audio producer and Gen Z colleague at NPR, recognized the comments as communications from middle schoolers. These students, too young for mainstream social media, were using the podcast comment sections as a group chat platform, a behavior previously noted on the TED Radio Hour show.
Reason for Choosing NPR
When asked why they chose NPR, one student explained that they specifically looked for podcasts with few existing comments. This strategy allowed them to create a private communication space away from adult oversight.
Updates
- Dave Blanchard runs the Wild Card public radio show.
- The comments were on an episode with writer Elizabeth Gilbert.
- Dave Blanchard initially thought the comments were gibberish.
- The comments were on NPR's Wild Card podcast on Spotify.
- The incident was discussed on a new episode of This American Life.
- Ira Glass hosted the This American Life episode.
- Showrunner Dave Blanchard initially thought the comments were from bots.
- Dave Blanchard deleted the initial comments.
- One account posted 'so it deleted my com' after comments were deleted.
- Dave Blanchard shared screenshots of the comments in NPR's Slack.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
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Primary sources
GitHub newrelic/newrelic-browser-agentHow outlets covered it
Teenagers repurposed the comment section of a low-traffic NPR podcast on Spotify into a private group chat. This activity was initially mistaken for bot behavior by NPR staff due to the unusual and seemingly incoherent posts.
Middle school students utilized the comment section of an NPR podcast on Spotify as a group chat, circumventing restrictions on other social media platforms. This incident highlights how young users adapt to communicate online when traditional channels are unavailable.
Middle school students are using the comment sections of NPR podcasts, specifically "Wild Card," as a private chat space to avoid adult supervision on traditional social media platforms. This activity was discovered by NPR staff after noticing unusual comments, which were later identified as communications between young users seeking less-monitored online spaces.