You Go First

Digital communication has significantly changed human relationships, especially for the younger generations who have never known a world without the internet. Digital platforms offer new and faster ways for people who have already established in-person relationships to communicate with each other, but these platforms have also created ways for people who have never met to establish relationships based on mutual interests, shared duties, and more. Although the misuse of digital platforms can lead to miscommunication or the spread of misinformation, digital communication can also provide opportunities for relationships to grow in meaningful, unique ways. This is the case for Ben and Charlotte, for whom online Scrabble offers opportunities for both building friendships and self-actualization. While the two children feel isolated in their schools, the digital platform allows them to form a cross-country relationship, connecting them from Pennsylvania to Louisiana. Platforms that contribute to the formation of digital relationships include social media, online games, dating and friendship apps, message boards, chat rooms, and online communities for people with specific hobbies or interests. According to a 2015 article, 57% of teenagers had made at least one online friend (Manacher, Ilene. “More than half of teens make new friends online.” CBS News, 6 Aug. 2015). This indicates that friendships like Charlotte and Ben’s are more common than older generations might anticipate.

While these relationships can be genuine and as beneficial as in-person friendships—Charlotte and Ben are instrumental to each other’s personal growth, and Ben even helps Charlotte’s mother find her when she skips school—there are negative aspects to increased digital communication. While You Go First centers on bullying in school, neither protagonist deals with cyberbullying or other forms of online harassment. This is a growing problem for modern teens, and recent research shows that nearly half of American teens have dealt with cyberbullying (Vogels, Emily. “Teens and Cyberbullying 2022.” Pew Research Center, 15 Dec. 2022). Internet and social media use among teens has also risen since You Go First was published, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. Ninety-four percent of teens now own smartphones, and while 24% reported they were online “almost constantly” in 2015, that percentage grew to 46% in 2023 (“The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens, 2021.” Common Sense, 9 Mar. 2022). While many teens use the internet to develop friendships and their sense of self, recent reports also show that teens are increasingly opting for online interaction over in-person interaction, a shift that is linked to increased loneliness, depression, and anxiety in young people.