Teen “Hack Clubs” Aren’t What You Think They Are

Most teen hackers are simply learning to code

(Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images)
(Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images)

For most people, the word “hacker” signals someone who’s up to no good, cracking codes to try to steal personal data or credit card numbers. But as the Wall Street Journal points out, a growing number of teens in “hack clubs” are out to prove that isn’t always the case.

Most of the “hacking” they’re doing is actually just coding, and the “hackathons” these clubs attend are one-day events where students compete in small teams to create apps or websites. But many of the teens who participate say their parents are still suspicious of what they’re up to.

“My dad was like, ‘You’re always up to something. You’re always on your computer. I don’t know what you’re doing,’” 15-year-old Snigdha Roy of Mount Sinai, N.Y. told the publication.

Ultimately, they see “hacking” more in the context of life-hacking. “A hacker, to me, is anyone who’s able to see a problem, understand that something doesn’t work and come up with a solution,” Chaleb Pommells, 14, of Miramar, Fla., said. He’s working to develop a website that will show voters which candidates have received donations from super PACs.

For some reason, they say, “Coding Club” just doesn’t have the same ring to it. “I have friends whose teachers don’t want them to call it ‘hack club,’” said Claire Wang, 14, who founded a hack club at her Hawthorne, California school. “If you call it ‘code club’ or ‘girls who code,’ or ‘maker club,’ it’s fine. It’s pretty disappointing, because ‘hack club’ or ‘hackathon’ sounds orders of magnitude cooler.”

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