Yell “Penis” For Password

This past week some students discovered a wi-fi network on campus called “yell ‘penis’ for password.” @TwaltWhitman retweeted a tweet from @Buzzfeeders: “19 ridiculous wi-fi names that have been spotted in the wild http://bzfd.it/1KyDkuF.” One of those “ridiculous” wi-fi names was named “Yell ‘penis’ for the password”: almost the exact same as the one at Choate. The weight of social media is immense; opinions, jokes, and pictures can be communicated to a variety of audiences instantly, and with impact. At the beginning of the school year, Mr. Arcand told his English class that they would be using Twitter in their assignments for that reason. Though making a wi-fi network with this name is not admirable, it demonstrates that audiences of all types are reached and inspired by social media. Until I started tweeting for English class, I underestimated this influence. A few weeks ago, I tweeted a news article about a sport played in Italy and within a day it was featured on a stranger’s website. Since tweeting, I have taken note on other situations where Twitter has influence. One finding was that Donald Trump uses the power of Twitter to his advantage. He currently has 4.35 million followers, and his Twitter account alone is discussed in news articles and talk shows and has unquestionably given him supporters. Twitter, for better or worse, affects the world in big and small ways.