How saying ‘deez nuts’ can ruin your life

For most parents whose teenage years pre-dated Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, few things are as terrifying as the social media use of their children. What might seem like harmless fun, such as posting memes, sharing photos, or venting frustrations, can have life-changing consequences. As a barrister who represents students, I have seen how a single ill-judged post can ruin a young person’s future.

In one memorable case, a pupil was expelled from secondary school for using the phrase ‘deez nuts’ with a classmate. The male pupil had meant it as a joke, but the female pupil found it offensive and reported it to the headmaster. The headmaster, prim and proper, deemed it an obscene, unsolicited allusion to oral sex and expelled the teenager. I have also handled cases where pupils have posted online about sensitive issues, such as the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements, and found themselves the subject of formal complaints from peers.