GPB joins an inspired cohort of Georgia educators and students to ignite a collective passion for civic engagement, media literacy, and digital citizenship. Follow us as we explore pressing issues, enrich understanding, and catalyze positive community change.

Howard High School student Heien Chang asked Rick Canosa what he would do if social media disappeared and how social media affects the development of younger generations.

 

TRANSCRIPT:

Heien Chang: Hey, guys. My name is Heien, and today we're going to be talking about the evergreen topic of what would you do if social media disappeared today? Today I have —

Rick Canosa: Rick Canosa.

Heien Chang: Nice! So, Rick, based on the topic, what would you do if social media disappeared today?

Rick Canosa: Well, there's a lot of things I can't do and a lot of things that I would do. So, one of the things that I can't do is I can't market my business because I currently own two businesses right now. So that would affect my business as I rely on social media heavily to market myself. And what I would do is I would go back to the to the old-fashioned way of just doing fliers or — or somewhat.

Heien Chang: Would you say it's a big aspect of your business?

Rick Canosa: Yeah, it's a big aspect because, you know, social media is the — is another way for us to communicate without being in person. So, yeah.

Heien Chang: So without social media, as somebody who's growing up in their adolescent life, how do you think social media plays into the development of, let's say, your childhood?

Rick Canosa: Not a lot, because I feel like if you're a kid, you don't need to be on social media as much as adults do because you're a kid. You need to enjoy your life right now and get some social like talking in, because you don't need to be on social media talking to strangers online.

Heien Chang: So would you say if social media disappeared today, would that be a good or bad thing?

Rick Canosa: Definitely a bad thing. There's a lot of people that rely on social media, a lot of people that work ... on social media, like content creators and all that. So definitely business and I feel like the economy right now would plummet.

Heien Chang: These are some very interesting facts. Thank you so much, Rick.