Commentary: Unblock Me, Please

Jess Pomerantz ('23), Orbit Contributor
January 12, 2023

Imagine this, you are a student at RMHS. You have finished all of the work that a teacher has assigned you and you can finally kick your feet back and relax. The first instinctual thing to do is whip out your iPhone 13. The bright screen of your phone lights up your face and you see notifications on all of your favorite social media apps. But, something strange happens. When opening the app that you most desire, a tragedy occurs…it won’t load! You are now doomed with boredom and might spend the rest of your life reliving that traumatizing experience when the only way you communicate with the outside world has been shut off!

At RMHS, the school wifi blocks apps that students frequently use such as Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, and Netflix. It is deeply damaging to do this to students given that gen z’s main way of communication is through social media. So pretty much, by blocking these apps through the school wifi, administrators don’t want students to have friends or be happy ever.

I know what all you teachers and administrators are going to say: “Students should be focusing on class and not what is going on in their silly little phones.” But in my humble opinion, when Alix Earle posts a new get ready with me video on TikTok, it is really important to watch it right away! Tapping through the hilarious posts of your favorite content creators is a very sacred part of a student’s day. 

Besides using social media apps for recreational use, a lot of students actually use social media as a news outlet as well. According to a 2022 survey on statista, 50% of gen z uses social media as a news outlet on the daily. Not being able to access these various apps can cause students to be misinformed or left in the dark for important things going on in the world.

 

Here’s a little secret for all the administrators at RMHS. Students can get around these blockages by doing a couple things. One, they can use a virtual private network (VPN) which creates a secret passageway for all of your data to go through and the student can then access the apps that they want to use. A second way is, just to shut off the wifi and use data. Both of those ways can sometimes be effective, but they also are a hassle and don’t always work. I think that if the school just makes these apps compatible with the wifi, everything will be sunshine and rainbows again.

In the end, I believe that the school needs to unblock these apps so that students are able to enjoy their school days while still being able to look at social media. Even if you don’t want to believe it, social media has taken over as a main communication medium and without it, students can’t access the things that give them joy and information.