Teen takeovers: How the lighthearted social media trend is taking a serious turn

When Damarion Spann, 18, saw an Instagram flier calling for a massive gathering on a beach near downtown Chicago, he immediately wanted to go. Thousands of others joined him that night on the sand, blasting music and dancing. The cultural trend of so-called teen takeovers has popped up across the U.S. in recent years, influencing local policing and national politics. The events, often hyped online and captured in videos on social media, have led to shootings, theft and vandalism. City officials and police are concerned about an increase over the summer, and are under pressure to prevent similar gatherings or to punish those who participate. Over the July 4 holiday weekend, several thousand young people converged in two spots in Raleigh, North Carolina, police said. Nine people, including an adult who was not part of the gatherings, were shot and wounded. There were also takeovers in Pensacola, Florida, where a 19-year-old was shot and killed; and Newport Beach, California, where more than 400 were arrested after the police chief said teens launched "explosive mortars and other projectiles” at officers ordering them to disperse. But Spann and other teens say that the events are largely misunderstood. They point to formal curfews or limits on group size at malls and movie theatres that have made it harder for teens to gather, exacerbating a feeling of disconnection they trace back to remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic. Communities and police across the country are trying to identify organizers, fine parents of those involved and impose curfews. In Detroit, officials say they "thwarted" 19 gatherings so far this year by monitoring time and location changes as young people coordinated across social media, said Teferi Brent, director of the Mayor’s Office of Neighbourhood and Community Safety. "We have eyes on all the behaviours and activities of those who have expressed interest in trying to take over and we have done a good job of being way ahead of the curve and being able to prevent a lot of these things,” Brent said. Alderperson Jessie Fuentes, who chairs the Chicago City Council’s subcommittee on Youth Employment, said her office has tried to find solutions that don't rely exclusively on police and instead coordinate with parents and community members to prevent conflict or crimes. Blue Island, a south Chicago suburb, has taken another tact: to fine parents or guardians and use the funds to cover clean up after events. That might include debris left behind or other damages like cars dented from scores of teens clambering over them while fleeing police. Other places have taken harsher approaches, as in Florida, where state officials said prosecutors can apply racketeering laws, typically targeting criminal gangs or organized crime, if takeovers appear to be facilitated by "an organized network.” But some have pushed back on the idea that the threat of harsh legal punishment could prevent the gatherings in the first place. "What we know about adolescent brain development is that the stakes are not going to be what prevents a young person from engaging in risky behaviour,” said Melissa Milchman, the executive director for the nonpartisan organization the Coalition for Juvenile Justice. Milchman added that mass arrests often ensnare those who are going for innocent fun without preventing others from breaking the law. For Spann, the recent media attention on the events has largely failed to capture the appeal to young people. "You feel like a young person who has freedom, who’s not being held to something,” said Spann, who is Black. At the event he went to, he was able to catch up with people he hadn't seen since 8th grade. He said that the events are a direct result of a cascade of school closures across Black neighbourhoods over the past couple decades in Chicago. To deter people from gathering even at basketball courts, where there were sometimes fights, officials have removed the nets. Spann said that his mom, who grew up in the same neighbourhood, frequently talks about how much easier it used to be to hang out outside without a fear of gun violence. When Spann goes to malls in more affluent areas with his mostly Black group of friends, shoppers often stare and security guards question them. To avoid scrutiny, Spann and his friends sometimes sneak into outdoor shopping centres or areas downtown in smaller groups at staggered times. By contrast, in the same spaces, Spann said, "If I’m with my white friends, I feel like I belong." Despite the physical dangers that come with takeovers and the threat of getting a ticket or even arrested, the allure is strong, according to Jeffrey Bernstein, a psychologist and author. "The kids still do it because they feel like it’s their second family,” which he said "really takes over as their primary sense of connection.” "They’re getting things from their peers that they can’t get from their parents.” Some cities have tried to meet that need head-on, instead