Being a teen these days is NOT easy. There’s pressure to fit in and belong. Social media allows teens to bully each other from afar. One teen, Aija Mayrock who has been bullied, decided to do something about it.
Teens were invited to test a new social network called frnd-le. It’s actually a fake social network experiment. They individually sit in the frnd-le booth where a friendly computer voice asks them questions about themselves. The teens all enthusiastically describe themselves, with no appearance of discomfort or shyness. They share their self-perceived strengths, likes, goals, favorite artists, things that people might night know about them and things that make them different.
Not surprisingly, many of their answers differ from each other, but many are similar. At the end of the questions, the computer says it’s time to take their picture for their profile. They all smile authentically. Everything is great until…
The computer says “I have found your school network, preparing to share your profile”. We’ll let you watch the video to see what happens but the teens’ demeanors change radically at that utterance.
The point of this fake social network experiment is to show that teens are afraid to be themselves around their peers. This fake social network experiment showcases the problem, but then goes on to show the teens that their unique personalities are perfect the way they are. Aija Mayrock wrote The Survival Guide to Bullying: Written by a Teen
Please Like and Share with your friends who are teens or who have teens – and encourage them to be confident in themselves.