Schools all over the nation are struggling to find funding for maintenance and renovations. After dealing with years of tough budget cuts, this has become a serious issue for cleanliness in schools. Administrators and stakeholders are now dealing with the resulting fallout when poor conditions are coming to light in the tech-savvy world we live in.

Students today have access to more technology than ever before, which can be problematic for schools. Although modern media mixed with a focus on creating a better world offers endless learning opportunities for students, it’s also there to allow them to broadcast what they perceive as a school’s failures and shortcomings.

Viral Activism in Schools

Today’s youth are not strangers to activism, whether that’s promoting change nationwide or within their own schools. Some students are jumping onto platforms like YouTube, TicTok or Twitter to shed light on the disgusting restroom conditions they are expected to deal with on a daily basis.

Thanks to technology such as smartphones and social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, a complaint and firsthand account can be spread to viewers across the world in a matter of minutes. Often, students take matters into their own hands, creating online and video surveys of other students’ perspectives and how issues affect them.

Other times, it’s parents and student activists shedding light on problems they feel must be corrected. Between outraged parents and dramatic teenagers, the videos are sometimes humorous, but the potential problems it creates for schools and administrators are no laughing matter.

Social Media: For Better or Worse

When smelly, unsanitary restrooms are a daily occurrence at a school, a single photo or video can spark controversy – especially when students or their advocates are unhappy.

With the prevalence of social media, the sanitation and safety issues impacting today’s school children are getting more attention, for better or for worse. Give your students something positive to show on their social channels – a clean and restored restroom.

This is an excerpt from our full report, available here.