Knocking on Nextdoor

Senior Jack Adams downloads on the not-so-neighborly app and its loyal following.

“Trashcan put to curb too soon,” “Dirty homeless hanging around Starbucks,” “Free fish candles for Hannukah,” and “Rowdy teenage party in Highlands.”

The above are some of the top posts on Nextdoor. For those of you who don’t know, Nextdoor, sometimes referred to as Narcdoor, is an app for neighbors to post about what is going on in their community. It is based around their simple slogan: “When neighbors start talking, good things happen.” This motto seems to be working, as over 250,000 neighborhoods are registered on Nextdoor. But there is a reason it’s nicknamed Narcdoor, where, for most, this social media platform is an outlet for snitching, paranoia, and downright conspiracy theories.

Now, you must be asking yourself: Why does Jack Adams care about some site where people post pictures of dog poop on their lawn and coyotes sifting through their trash? Because, I was one of Nextdoor’s victims. You see, that last headline, “Rowdy teenage party in Highlands,” was written about me. That’s right, one of my neighbors ratted me out. I was narced! Now, let the record reflect that there was no illegality happening at my house. It was a totally normal affair, ruined by the junior detectives of Nextdoor, which begs the question: why do neighbors give a crap about what a 17-year-old kid is doing in their own home? Why do neighbors post on Nextdoor? Can I find that anonymous user that snitched on me? And finally, when neighbors start talking, do good things happen? I set out on my second investigation for The Jaguardian to find out.

My first step? Get the app. Now I’m no computer whiz, but this seemed a lot more difficult than it had to be. Nextdoor requires you to verify your account with your email, your phone number, and by postcard. Yeah, by postcard. Was this site invented during the Civil War? Might as well just verify it by carrier pigeon. After a few days’ time, I sifted through the thousands of letters from Montana State and Arizona University (both of which I humbly ask to stop writing letters to me) to finally find a postcard with Nextdoor’s logo. After logging on, I decided to join in on the fun. I tested my online neighbors by writing in response to their posting, “Why don’t we just leave them be?” and “why not just call the authorities?” and weirdly enough, for a social media app, nobody was responding to me. The only thing Rick F. and Kaitlyn K. would respond to were other posters sympathizing with their complaints.

(Screenshot by Jack Adams / The Jaguardian)

Animal Sightings Are Hardly Rare on Nextdoor.

I realized that my attempts to talk to Nextdoor users online weren’t working and I had to get some answers to why people feel the need to post about activities that don’t relate to them, so I decided to go straight to the source; old people. According to Pew Research, almost half of Nextdoor’s users are older than 45. And luckily for me, finding old people with a lot of time on their hands in the Highlands of the Palisades was not that difficult of a task. The next day, I brought my notebook, pen, and phone, and began Nextdooring from house to house.

At first, I ran into some trouble. I realized rather quickly that most of the people in my condominium complex were in the odd group of really elderly people that are nosy and paranoid, but unable to use a computer. I went further down Palisades Drive, questioning random passersby about whether they had nextdoor, but to no avail. Until, finally, I saw him: Jeff, a 30 year Highland resident and neighbor of mine for over 17 of them…

“Hey Jeff, how are you?” I began.

Jeff and I go way back; he is the neighbor who often complains about how I dump some of my trash in his trash can.

“Hi Jack, I’m good. Just walking the dogs is all.”

I proceeded with my inquiry. Luckily enough, Jeff confirmed he’s a Nextdoorer.

“Let me start simply,” I asked, “Why do you use Nextdoor?”

“Well…I think it’s good to keep an eye on the neighborhood and know what’s going on. I think it’s also a way to prevent crime or allow neighbors to help.”

Prevent crime? What is Jeff going to do, stop a robbery? I don’t think so. I pressed him: “But do you think it really accomplishes anything?”

“Well, it certainly helps people lock their doors more often or maybe not leave later at night. I don’t know.”

Locking doors, not leaving later. This is the Palisades we are talking about.

“Does Nextdoor change your opinion of your neighbors in a bad way?” I prompted.

Jeff thought for a second. “I think, yeah, probably. I can’t lie.”

I interviewed some more neighbors about Nextdoor, but most of them shared Jeff’s opinion. ‘It helps prevent crime. It helps prevent crime.’ Reading online, Nextdoor seems to make this claim as well. In fact, they have a whole crime prevention page on the front of their website.

So I decided: why not just cut right to the chase and ask law enforcement if Nextdoor actually helps them? I called the top dog in LA County, Sheriff Alex Villanueva. Unfortunately, Sheriff Villanueva wasn’t available for an interview. Apparently, he was too busy. I did get someone else though, his seniormost advisor and his former campaign manager, Javier.

I began my questioning. I asked him point-blank whether Nextdoor prevents crime.

“Well, it depends,” he said. “Nextdoor can help neighbors track criminals, but it also spreads some disinformation, which ends up hurting the authorities.”

The one piece of advice Javier had for Nextdoorers was “Leave it to the professionals.” He explained that too many neighbors think that they are “…vigilantes. Don’t be a vigilante.”

Easier said than done for those who think they’re Sherlock Holmes. Maybe the major problem in neighborhoods isn’t teenagers who just want to have a good time. Maybe, the major problem is neighbors who are lying to themselves, thinking that they are making an impact in preventing crime, when in reality, they just want to sit on their Dell computers and complain.