How Teens Are Using Social Media To Do Good

It’s pretty common that we here about stories of kids on social media but for the most part we don’t often see headlines about kids who are on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram for the good!

That’s right FOR. THE. GOOD.

I was invited to join over 50 students at the Facebook Canada offices to find out how some have taken social media into their hands, literally. The event wasn’t for media or adults. It was a day of workshops and inspiration for teens from several high schools across the city. Guest speakers were youths just like them who used social media as a tool to make a change in the world. With more than 20 million Canadians active on Facebook each month, the social media site is a powerful tool for young people. Here are a few worth noting…

Rob Dyer, an avid skateboarder, realized that many kids loved to board but wanted to take it to the next level. He was sixteen-years-old. He had lost a mother, both grandmothers and a best friend to cancer. He saw their hardships but he wanted to redirect his sadness and energy into doing something worthwhile. He founded Skate4Cancer — Dream Love Cure in an effort to raise awareness and spread knowledge on cancer prevention. Using skateboarding as a platform, he decided to take his board onto the streets and pursued a marathon journey from Los Angeles to Toronto. Since then, other young adults around the world have joined the volunteer movement to raise money for various hospitals and causes combining the passion for skateboarding with something important.

Brennan Wong created Pledges for Change an organization inspired by the idea of doing something, anything to help make the world a better place. Not tied to any particular charity, this one puts the power in the hands of youth. It’s not just about money, it’s also about doing. It’s more of a movement that gives the youth the power to make a difference. Youth are encouraged to make a pledge. For every pledge $1 is donated to charity. To date, they’ve received 16,000 pledges.

Four grade 12 girls from Winnipeg, Samantha-Maria Figeroa, Simarjeet Gill, Jennier Pazdor and Stephanie Zabar, created an augmented reality app, Save Our Minds, to help students cope with the stresses of everydaylife by providing helplines and information on some of the most important social issues for kids including bullying. With the assistance of teachers, the students have built their site and app for students. Snowflake visuals were created and posted up in schools that students could scan with their smart devices giving access to different pages where teens could get help. I had asked them about pursuing their careers in coding and technology and they all had agreed that there’s plenty of opportunity, especially for females, in this rapidly growing industry. That’s media smart!

Peace Welcome Club began as a need for youth based volunteering initiatives. Founder Harnoor Gill wanted to contribute to the community but found it challenging, particularly for immigrant youths, to find volunteer opportunities. His motto is “age is not a barrier to volunteer” and his site offers inspiration and advice on where and how to give back.

Shown here: Brennan Wong and Harnoor Gill celebrating Media Literacy Week at Facebook Headquarters in Toronto (November 2014)

Okanagan’s Caitie Shaw, founder of the Youth Empowerment Project (YEP), created the #Cyberlove youth empowerment campaign in memory of Amanda Todd was so well received that she continued the campaign on Facebook to encourage youth to fill their personal pages with positive messages of encouragement to one another. YEP also gives kids the opportunity to learn about social justice, environmental and health issues that are top of mind for youth.

Toronto’s own Kate Whitefield’s Fearlessly Girl initiative, uses the social media platform to unite and inspire young women across the country by coming together to create change and to put an end to bullying in Canada. While she’s no longer a teen herself, she vividly recalls the challenges in high school and wanted to find a way to help reinforcing messages in a positive way. Yes, the way we do things have changed with social media but how we act during those years remain constant. Users of her site are encouraged to share their stories of being bold and fearless and to follow their dreams and to create a kinder world for girls. Kate often visits schools to talk about what it means to be a Fearlessly Girl inspiring young women to be empowered to be kind to themselves and to others. The blog site is especially good with advice like “15 Things I Wish Every Girl Knew” that starts of by telling us that “You don’t owe the world ‘pretty’.”

So, while we often hear about the negatives to social media remember that there is some good happening there. If you’ve heard of any other youth initiatives on social media, I’d love to know! Drop me a note in the comment section and let’s be forward and positive supporters of our kids online and offline!