Statement by Cougar Star – 

Warning: This article contains sensitive topics such as cyberbullying and self-harm.

Discord, Discord, Discord. There’s talk about this app everywhere, especially in middle school. In 2020, there were over 300 million registered users. Approximately 25 billion messages are sent each month. Obviously, we wondered what the hype was all about, and decided to write this article. So, here are the pros and cons of Discord. 

Pros – Rebekah Muthyala

You’ve probably heard of Discord by now. It’s an instant messaging app that you can use to communicate with friends through text messaging, video calling, and voice calling.

First off, Discord is great because of how easy it is to talk to your friends. You can text them, video call, or audio call them with easy access. You just have to click the video or phone symbol at the top of your Direct Message. With that, you can connect with your friends super easily, making Discord one of the top apps for contacting people.

If you don’t know what Discord is, you might wonder why Discord is so interesting if all you can do is talk to friends. But, there are bots, too. Bots are software applications that have been programmed to perform tasks. Bots are similar to games, except there are no visuals. On Discord, there are many bots for every occasion, and they are very easy to use. These bots use simple commands with prefixes such as “!”,”#”,”/”, that allow easy access to interact with the bots. Along with that, you can create custom bots using code. There are also bots that play songs and others that host trivia games, so you can compete with your friends. Different types of bots include K-pop bots, meme bots, server management bots, giveaway bots, and bots that allow you to play YouTube videos. Bots are one of the many things that make Discord special.

Additionally, there are servers. There are servers for everything, from gaming and K-pop communities to music and school. With servers, you can meet new people, get help with problems, and share your interests with people in one place. You can also make your own servers with a very easy process. In servers, you can add bots, create roles for friends and talk to friends. One thing that servers possess is VCs (voice chats) in which you join and can talk to people.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was especially hard to meet up with your friends in-person and do normal things like hanging out. Discord helps with that because there are so many people with a variety of talents, interests, and personalities. There are people that think the same way you do, like the same things, and can connect with you. A lot of these people on Discord are nice, friendly, and you can open up to them. According to ABC Everyday, “Psychologist Leanne Hall says an element of anonymity online can make it easier to share parts of yourself you might otherwise find difficult.”

Discord has many good qualities and can be used for many purposes. It’s an easy way to contact friends, play games, and have fun. 

Cons – Lakshya Jaiganesh

Nowadays, it seems like the only thing people talk about is Discord. Sure, it’s a fun way to connect with friends, but with its pros…comes its cons. Many of these cons relate to safety problems, which can be very harmful to kids. 

First, Discord makes it easy for strangers to contact and stalk kids. People on this app can smoothly lie about who they are and sometimes pose as children. These strangers, known as predators, can start chatting in a kid-friendly channel but convert to unmoderated direct messages. In this current COVID-19 pandemic, children might feel isolated, leaving them more eager to make new friends. This has happened to one of the subscribers of Defend Young Minds. According to Defend Young Minds, “The boy had been playing Minecraft, and the predator, posing as a child, convinced the boy to take the conversation into a private message on Discord…Predators know kids are especially vulnerable right now and they try to capitalize on that.”

Additionally, Discord can be a prime place for cyberbullying. Audio and video streams on Discord disappear, so there’s no evidence if kids are being bullied or not. You also have the ability to create groups to exclude kids, and share mean photos or memes. The lack of parental controls means parents can’t monitor what their kid is facing, and won’t be able to step in. Many kids won’t reach out to parents if someone is cyberbullying them, and this can lead to mental health issues. The American Journal of Public Health says cyberbullied middle school students are nearly twice as likely to attempt suicide.

As mentioned previously, Discord does not have parental controls. This is a gateway for adult content and many other things. Discord is for ages 13 and above, but a lot of kids ignore that and use the app anyway. Adult content is abundant on Discord, and kids shouldn’t be exposed to those kinds of things. Because it doesn’t have parental controls, kids can take advantage of Discord and do and see whatever they want to, all without the parents knowing. 

Furthermore, Discord can add to the screen time and entice kids to waste time. If kids have Discord, the first thing many will want to do when they’re bored is talk to their friends (on Discord). This can lead to an excessive amount of screen time, which is physically and mentally unhealthy. For example, Valleywise Health states, “…a National Institutes of Health study found that children who spent more than two hours a day on electronic devices scored lower on thinking and language tests.” The urge to talk with friends, especially during the pandemic, is strong. So many kids will want to be constantly on Discord. When this happens, many don’t put effort and time into homework or studying, which can affect them in the long run.”

Though Discord is a fun way to communicate with friends and make connections, it also has a lot of cons that come with it. So as you’re contemplating whether or not to download this app, look at both of the sides, not just the pros.