What are young people in Barranquilla talking about on social media, and what can organizations do to engage with this group?
- Mar 19
- 2 min read
The secret of youth publications that organizations aren't seeing
One in four people in Barranquilla is young; connecting with their conversations is not only an opportunity, but also a necessity. In a context where organizations, both public and private, are constantly making decisions that impact the city, engaging with a quarter of the population is a win for the region.
Today, social media allows us to connect and interact with diverse audiences; however, a digital disconnect exists between organizations and young people in Barranquilla. On the same day, an organization might post a piece on X (formerly Twitter) about educational access opportunities, complete with a perfect poster and carefully crafted text… and hardly anyone comments. At the same time, a young woman from Barranquilla uploads a video to TikTok explaining that she's exhausted trying to figure out how to get into university or pay for her studies, and that she doesn't really know which path to take; within minutes, her comments section is flooded with “I'm going through the same thing,” “me too,” “you're not alone,” and supportive emojis. Both women are talking about the same thing—access to education—but only one manages to engage hundreds of people, prompting them to react and feel supported.
This article helps us understand why this is happening and what we can do to connect with young people. Between May and December 2025, NuestraBarranquilla, with the support of Linterna Verde, conducted a social listening exercise (monitoring and analysis in digital environments) on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, and YouTube to better understand this conversation. More than simply measuring the number of posts, social listening allowed us to identify the topics that emerged in conversations about and by young people, the emotions they experienced, who influenced them and how, and what happened when organizations tried to connect with them.
This article compiles some of the key findings from monitoring thousands of pieces of content related to topics prioritized by the youth ecosystem, according to previous assessments by NuestraBarranquilla: education, productive inclusion, socio-emotional health, youth leadership, and the city. It is primarily intended for organizations seeking to connect with Barranquilla's youth, but also for young people who want to see themselves reflected in this reflection, understand the dynamics of youth conversations, and contribute new ideas for connecting with organizations. Based on these findings, we propose three ideas for better understanding youth conversations on social media and six concrete tips on what to do and what to avoid when communicating with young people in digital contexts.
