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We know social media is everywhere, there’s even a day – June 30th!   And in the lead up to Social Media Day, a book might seem like a stretch, but we think we have the answer!

What Happens Online is the perfect read for KS3 (and older) students who might prefer a smart phone to a paperback.  Starring known and loved gamer extraordinaire Existor and ignored and bullied Fred (who are one and the same) this book combines Fred’s triumphs and woes both online and IRL.  Plus, in his usual style Nathanial Lessore makes sure to infuse humour into some really rather important subjects.

Nate has very kindly written for us about What Happens Online and about the world of secondary school in 2025 and how and where the online world fits for teenagers today…

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School visits are a big part of author life. I get nervous every time. Standing up in front of three hundred Year Nines before I’ve had my second coffee of the day is always daunting. And then it happens. They’re attentive, they’re inspired, they have questions, and by the end of my author visit, most students are aware that they, too, can be authors if they so wish it.

As an outsider, I can see how much secondary schools have changed since I was a student, but also how much has stayed the same. These are my notes:

• Year Seven – they seem so much smaller than I remember. They’re wide-eyed and full of wonder that an author is visiting their school. They equate writing books to some sort of celebrity status.
• Year Eight – very similar to Year Sevens, only slightly bigger and with the volume raised.
• Year Nine – unfiltered and chaotic in the best way. But generally much more self-conscious. Boys want to act cool in front of the girls (and each other), girls are more timid than the Year Sevens and Eights. Everyone’s more conscious about making a fool of themselves. Thankfully, there are always exceptions.

This self-consciousness is exactly the inspiration for my main character Fred in What Happens Online. His inner voice, self-deprecating and overly analytical (‘My singing voice is so bad it could kill an evergreen’), is a stark contrast to his spoken voice, which he doesn’t use very often. Not until he meets Tara, a cool library dweller, does his external expression catch up with his inner narration.

One way in which secondary schools have changed, though, is that social media wasn’t as prevalent as when I was at school. I channelled my own memories of being an insecure teen, and had to amplify them by a hundred to match what students are going through these days. Online bullying was, fortunately, something I didn’t have to deal with. Comparison with online profiles wasn’t a thing. The links between social media and teenage depression have since been well documented, and it’s also infiltrated school life as well as home life.

Personally, I feel bad for them. It can’t be easy; teenagers, even back in my day (always wanted to say that), are tribal, full of processed sugar, and struggling to find their identity. All of this informed What Happens Online.

In terms of creating the story itself, my frequent school visits have shown me how invested students are in video games. Rarely a school visit happens where video games aren’t mentioned or quoted at me during creative workshops. As a gamer myself, I can relate. That’s where the idea for Fred’s influences started. Lots of gaming happens online, often with or against strangers, and the most popular gamers are also ‘influencers’, voices on social media that are listened to.

In my personal life, my teenage cousins, nieces and nephews are often plugged into their phones. I’m interested in how, or if, this impacts their lives in the moments where their phones are not in their hands. For better, or worse.

The conversation is nuanced, and hopefully the reader sees the two sides of the online/offline debate. The sense of community, communication and belonging is a benefit. But it’s also important to see the online world for what it really is – a fictional place, where the users are often fictions of themselves. And that’s before we get to some of the darker aspects (bullying, racism, hurtful comments, misogyny, safety issues, the list goes on …)

It all sounds pretty dark. But my job is to make it fun, and also make this a conversation, not a lecture. In a chat with Tara, Fred defends his online presence, saying, ‘The internet is part of the real world too.’ Its presence in the life of teenagers is a reality, something to be handled rather than fought against, and we need to do so with empathy.

A recurring phrase that Tara uses in Patois is, ‘Wha sweet a mout’ hat a belly’, meaning something enjoyable isn’t necessarily good for you. But it’s also a comment on moderation. Something sweet needn’t be bad, unless it’s over consumed. There’s so many different ways to interpret the stances of these characters, so many conversations to be had on the topic. And hopefully it’s a fun read too; I like to use humour to bring that aspect to my writing.

If this book is enjoyable, it’s because I enjoyed myself while writing it. Fred’s self-deprecation is funny, he tells the reader that he wouldn’t be the main character of his own story, in a scene where he flicks poo water in his eyes from an old toilet brush. In the same bracket, his self-loathing is clear for the reader to see, and we’re rooting for him to overcome it. Further, as is the case for all of my books, I rely on an abundance of true life anecdotes to create the story. A scene with a bowl of cornflakes is a disgusting highlight. There are many more sprinkled throughout the book.

My characters are usually an amalgamation of people I know, including myself, and it’s just as important to be able to laugh with them as it is to understand them. I just about survived the social horrors of secondary school, thanks to my willingness to play football (badly. Again, this is an easter egg in the book). I have two younger brothers who weren’t so lucky. Their reward for being themselves was punishment and mockery. Sadly, this still happens in some schools. But there is always hope. And help.

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Many thanks to Nate for sharing this blog.  What Happens Online is sure to entertain while also opening up vital conversations.  Read a little bit more about it and some other titles that delve into online life below.