KindEd

Youth social media usage is nearly universal, and it is exacerbating a global mental health crisis  doubling youth risk for outcomes such as depression and anxiety depending on the type of content they consume or are exposed to. In the US alone, up to 95% of 13-17 year olds report using a social media platform, with higher levels of social media use found in Black and Latino youth and those of low-income backgrounds. Research from 2017-18 showed adolescents from lower socioeconomic contexts were also more likely to report problematic social media use, which is demonstrably linked to adverse mental health effects. This disproportionate distribution of negative impacts towards disadvantaged groups further perpetuates inequality in society. 

The UN Global Issues report on Child and Youth Safety Online details that 79% of 14-25 year olds were online in 2023. While social media has clear benefits, evidence collected over the last 15 years shows that social media has the power to harm youth mental health globally. In the study, over ⅓ of adolescents in 30 countries reported being cyberbullied, with 1 in 5 skipping school because of it. The mental health crisis youth face online is further exacerbated by their exposure to harmful content online, such as hate speech, violent content, self-harm messages, sexual exploitation, abuse, and human trafficking. The proliferation of this kind of content among users is a by-product of AI-driven content personalization based on user behavior.

While the pandemic exacerbated social media use, research showed both positive and negative impacts of social media use on adolescent mental health and wellbeing. Positives include sustained connection to friends, family, and community while negatives include lower self-esteem and increased incidence of eating disorders. Irrespective of the pandemic, the rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide in youth were already climbing because of increased social media use. The adolescent mind is particularly vulnerable to social media effects because the connections between the emotional and the decision-making areas of their brains are still developing. 

The growing influence of social media on children in Chicago and beyond is evident, with nearly 70% of parents citing technology and social media as the top two reasons parenting is now more difficult than it was 20 years ago. According to the National Scientific Council on Adolescence, child and adolescent use of platforms designed for adults places them at high risk of being exposed to content that is unsupervised, developmentally inappropriate, and potentially harmful.

In the U.S., deterring the adverse effects of social media usage is primarily assumed to be the parent's responsibility. While nearly all parents believe they have a responsibility to protect their children, mitigating the risk of harm from social media cannot be entirely placed on families alone. Social media companies, governments, the education system, and communities also hold a stake and responsibility in the social apparatus around child development and safety. We must provide children and their families with the knowledge and tools to navigate the existing digital environment in healthy ways.

Social media usage impacts the social-emotional well-being of children and those they engage with online. We provide a social media education curriculum with the latest learning sciences, proven practices, and a student-centered approach.

Social media is a tool, neither good nor bad. It is user behavior that drives positive and negative outcomes. KindEd’s curriculum aims to develop youth agency--the sense of control a person feels over their thoughts and behaviors--in order to drive healthy usage patterns among users. While mental health risks are highly correlated with lower levels of agency, high levels of agency aids mental stability in the face of conflict or change. 

Our approach also addresses the need for students to become informed, ethical, and responsible social media users, which is hindered by their current lack of awareness about their usage habits, the algorithm design, and the effects of dynamics driving content creation (e.g., incentives, misinformation, the positivity bias, etc.). We deliver information about core features and domain-specific knowledge on social media and AI. Our learning model engages students through real-world connections, exploration, and high-level questioning to understand how they can use social media in a healthy manner. By recognizing their control over their actions and the resulting consequences, our curriculum reduces the risks of mental health and school-based problems related to social media use. 

Curriculum design and high-quality instruction are equally important to maximizing student learning and high levels of engagement. High levels of engagement in learning result in improved information retention, increased motivation, and higher levels of achievement. Our participatory model provides comprehensive social media education focused on quality and type of use, avoiding the pitfalls of moral panic rooted in other forms of social education that suggest abstention and restrictions, which do not resonate with youth and are largely ineffective. 

There is no one solution to the social media problem among youth, and the causal relationships between the amount of time spent on social media and mental health issues have mixed results. Thus, we focus on the quality of use. Our curriculum is the solution in bringing mindfulness and intentionality around social media use. Students engage in a variety of activities exploring a wide range of social media relationships and topics. Ultimately, students choose how they will engage in healthy social media use for themselves and others. 

KindEd plans to provide social media education to children of all ages.

Adolescents in sixth to eleventh grade are our initial target group, specifically those that report high social media usage and are most vulnerable to harmful impacts. Currently, we focus on serving a diverse socio-economic and racial population within Chicago Public Schools, wherein negative effects are most significant due to the way use compounds societal inequities.

There are currently no requirements for social media education in Illinois or Chicago. While there exists programs and policies, such as zero-tolerance, aimed at addressing student well-being, rates of depression, anxiety, and cyberbullying have yet to improve. Though a myriad of solutions may be proposed to the aforementioned problems, what remains clear is that what we have currently is not working.

Social media use is inextricably tied to mental health risks, and is, therefore, a critical factor in the social-emotional well-being of children. Social media use is nearly ubiquitous among adolescents, inevitably affecting parents, teachers, and entire schools. Yet still, there remains a lack of meaningful conversation or norm-setting around social media use.

Our curriculum’s bottom-up approach encourages active engagement, communication, and shared responsibility for the creation of positive norms around and a deeper understanding of social media. We address the needs of students, parents, and teachers who are negatively affected by harmful social media use by catalyzing dialogue among everyone, whereas parents have historically been presumed solely responsible for the daunting task of protecting their children online.

Our solution offers a comprehensive intellectual experience for students as they navigate social media and its effects on their personal, professional, and academic lives. By developing healthy social media mindsets and usage, we forecast mitigating the negative effects of social media on individuals. We believe our equity-centered framework has the potential to be effective in supporting low-income students of color and serves to close the professional gap in support of upward mobility.

Ten years ago, I started teaching middle school in the South Side of Chicago at a low-income school serving primarily African-American students. While fighting and bullying have been around in schools, social media-related conflict was new. The longer I taught, it only worsened. No matter how many restorative conversations or best practices I brought to mediate and resolve conflict, the permanent online record of student conflict posed significant ramifications. 

Even if students were not directly involved in the conflict, they wanted to record, post, share, like, and comment. Conflict and gossip spread like wildfire. What used to be a fight amongst friends could easily be broadcast in an instant without bounds. 

School policies to collect phones from students were largely ineffectual. This problem ate away at me for years. No matter how strong my classroom management was, at fostering trusting relationships, and building a sense of community among students, it was easily shattered by a single post. I spoke with students, colleagues, principals, school security, and community members, and there was strong agreement it was a challenge that significantly hurt students beyond their schoolwork, especially for those involved. 

Over time, I realized the problem was starting earlier than middle school as fellow teachers in third and fourth grades began to share how their students were affected by smartphone and social media use. Despite problems impacting children within the school, our ability to respond was limited because it was not considered to be within our responsibility. This was particularly concerning as I taught in a neighborhood school grappling with concentrated violence, poverty, and limited educational resources. These students already faced significant social-emotional challenges.

To form an in-depth and comprehensive understanding of the problem, I spent the last two years studying the issue extensively. Bringing together a team of peers, we used systems thinking to analyze the problem. We also listened to the experiences and concerns of a wide range of stakeholders in Chicago. This included students, parents, community members, teachers, school principals, and safety and security personnel. Collectively, we explored existing solutions within the current landscape. I delved into academic research on learning science, adaptive learning, media, social media, youth mental health, and developmental psychology

Even children from supportive households are struggling with problems associated with negative social media mindsets and use. I have maintained my ties to students, their families, fellow educators, and community members in Chicago. This deep understanding of the community’s needs informed the development of our social media education curriculum. It holistically considers the needs and perspectives of stakeholders while remaining realistic around implementation and constraints. 

Social media is here to stay, and stakeholders like parents, schools, and even social media companies recognize the need for solutions. As an educator, I understand the challenges in the classroom and the unique needs of each student. Schools desperately need a social media education curriculum and services that empower students, support teachers, and extend the conversation into home. We recognize that there is no one answer as social media’s impact varies across contexts and individuals.

We have developed a pilot curriculum and a beta version of a pre/post-assessment that's currently being tested with sixth graders at a neighborhood school. We've seen positive student engagement and are using the results of our pre/post-assessment to refine our product. We have established a strong partnership with the school administrator, who is sponsoring us to become a vendor with Chicago Public Schools.

To personalize the learning experience for a wider audience, we've built a framework for adaptive learning. This framework will be partially applied as we expand our pilot curriculum to other grades in Fall 2024. To achieve this, we are actively building partnerships with at least ten schools across Chicago Public Schools, private schools, charter schools, and afterschool service providers. 

Solve’s network of impact-minded leaders would be invaluable as we expand our reach beyond Chicago. Having seen the problem’s national scope, we want to help as many children, families, and educators as possible. Solve’s network offers a platform  to connect with mentors and experts in impact investing, venture capital, and educational leadership, providing us with crucial guidance for our growth. My experience in Chicago and at The University of Chicago highlighted the power of a strong network, building connections, and collaboration, and I am eager to learn from others tackling similar challenges. 

By growing our network, I plan to forge strategic partnerships to structure an economically sustainable business, devise new marketing strategies, and establish relationships with other education organizations and leaders to share best practices and expand our reach. We will improve our business model while developing new ways to adapt our curriculum and expansion strategy. All these partnerships will directly support our mission of empowering adolescents to become critical consumers of social media. As KindEd scales nationally, we are committed to creating mutually beneficial partnerships within the education sector.

Participating in the Obama Foundation Scholars program was a transformative experience. Being surrounded by diverse and mission-driven peers was inspiring and motivating. The program provided experiences in leadership development, action planning, and executive coaching, which have been instrumental in advancing our social impact work, particularly as we navigate the challenges of bringing new curricula into schools. 

In Chicago, we are building momentum by directly reaching out to individual schools, charter networks, and afterschool programs. However, the problem of social media among youth extends far beyond. After demonstrating the effectiveness of our curriculum and instructional approach, we need greater reach and credibility to achieve our goal to help as many children as possible. Solve’s network and recognition would be invaluable in this pursuit. By connecting with national and international partners through Solve, we can overcome barriers to entry in new school districts outside Chicago and Illinois.

Social media and the rise of AI-generated content both have the ability to significantly influence youth. These are critical, global issues that extend far beyond just impacting youth mental health. They contribute to the creation of echo chambers and blur the lines between truth and popularity. KindEd empowers students to become critical consumers of information and responsible online citizens, leading to improvements in mental health, school culture, and civic engagement. 

While our goal is to equip millions of students in the US and internationally with our product, we simply cannot do it alone. Through Solve’s network and resources, KindEd has the potential to transform the social media landscape for millions, unleashing goodness and cultivating a generation of responsible users online and offline.

Our curriculum builds agency within youth to transform their social media mindset and usage. Unlike traditional approaches that focus on passive learning or simply providing information, KindEd empowers students to take control over their social media experience. This aligns with medical research on agency as the key driver of behavioral change. We are building a leading assessment tool that goes beyond simply measuring knowledge retention. It evaluates students' ability to apply these concepts in their social media behavior, offering a more holistic view of learning effectiveness.

KindEd flips the classroom dynamic. Students become active explorers in their social media world, guided by teachers. Through activities and discussions, they analyze their habits, identify what they like and share, and critically examine the impact of their usage on themselves and society. Collaboration with peers helps them develop personalized plans for mindful social media engagement. This approach empowers students to take ownership of their learning and social media behavior.

Building agency is core to Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL), and KindEd leverages IBL specifically for social media education. Students actively investigate the complex social media landscape through guided projects and open-ended questions. They analyze their own habits, explore potential impacts of their interactions, and construct personal strategies for mindful engagement. This empowers students to take ownership of their learning and develop critical thinking skills essential for navigating the ever-evolving social media environment. Research shows IBL is highly effective in promoting long-term learning and knowledge retention across disciplines and ages.

KindEd goes beyond curriculum. We understand successful implementation is key. That's why we combine our IBL curriculum with comprehensive implementation services. This includes in-depth teacher training modules, ongoing coaching, and dedicated support to ensure teachers can effectively guide student exploration. By prioritizing teacher development and needs, KindEd empowers educators to become facilitators of student-driven environments where students develop critical thinking skills, positive mindsets, and intentional social media behaviors. This focus on implementation sets KindEd apart, maximizing the potential for long-term student success.

Existing large providers in the market provide digital citizenship products and cover a wide range of topics with social media as part of their work. KindEd offers a curriculum focused on the complexities of navigating social media today. This targeted approach makes for a more impactful learning experience. We use the most effective learning models to ensure high-quality instruction and delivery. The widespread social media problem is too large for us to solve alone. We actively seek collaboration with other digital literacy curriculum and implementation service providers. Together, we can build a comprehensive ecosystem that empowers students to become responsible digital citizens.

Social media is neither good nor bad, it is simply a tool. It is the user behavior that drives positive and negative outcomes for the individual and others. User behavior is driven by their mindset.

Social media use can negatively impact youth mental health, especially for passive users who lack control over their experience. KindEd focuses on building agency in young social media users. We believe that by understanding their own mindset and behaviors online, students can make better choices and develop positive social media habits.

KindEd focuses on building agency in young social media users. We believe that by understanding their own mindset and behaviors online, students can make better choices and develop positive social media habits.

Our curriculum helps students recognize different user behaviors and their consequences. They learn how to become "smart scrollers," actively engaging with algorithms to curate a positive and beneficial social media feed. KindEd also encourages critical thinking and social awareness, promoting kindness both online and offline.

Studies have shown a strong link between passive social media use and increased anxiety and depression. By empowering students with agency and a positive online mindset, KindEd expects to see improvements in mental well-being, reduced negative social media influences, and potentially, a decline in youth depression and anxiety rates. Additionally, students may develop better self-esteem, stronger social connections, and a more responsible approach to content creation.

KindEd's primary impact goal is to empower students to become healthy social media users, reducing their risk of psychological distress and adverse mental health outcomes, such as anxiety and depression. While social-emotional learning (SEL) provides valuable life skills, we believe a holistic approach is needed to tackle rising mental health concerns. KindEd focuses on the social media environment, a major factor influencing youth well-being.

We are committed to measuring our impact through a comprehensive assessment tool. This tool will assess students' understanding of social media algorithms, user behavior types, and the potential impact of content consumption. It will also measure key SEL skills like self-awareness, responsible decision-making, and positive social interaction, both online and offline.

We will conduct pre- and post-assessments to evaluate the effectiveness of our curriculum on various aspects of student behavior. We plan to track changes in how students engage with social media platforms (e.g., time spent, content selection), measure student interaction with positive and healthy social media content, assess the level of control students feel over their social media experience, track changes in students' overall emotional tone when engaging with social media (valence/emotional positivity), and evaluate students' ability to identify and differentiate between information, misinformation, and disinformation.

We believe KindEd's impact extends beyond individuals. We want to explore how our program influences school climate by tracking potential improvements in the overall school environment through surveys and teacher feedback. We will see how our program influences student engagement by measuring changes in student participation and overall engagement in school activities.

By closely monitoring these indicators, we can continuously refine our program and demonstrate its effectiveness in promoting positive social media use and mental well-being among students.

KindEd uses the power of evidence-based learning science and Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) principles to drive positive change in student social media behavior.

We've adapted the core principles of IBL to create a curriculum that maximizes student engagement, critical thinking, and a deeper understanding of social media's complexities. Our curriculum includes activities specifically chosen to support the topics we teach and encourage student-driven exploration.

We recognize that effective IBL implementation relies heavily on teacher expertise. KindEd offers comprehensive professional development that uses IBL principles to equip teachers with the necessary pedagogical content knowledge, instructional practices, and a positive attitude towards inquiry-based learning.

We are building an adaptive learning framework for personalized learning that caters to diverse learners and different literacy levels. This framework categorizes activities by type (movement, task, etc.) and allows for adjustments based on student needs.  For example, we can adapt a lesson on social media and friendships to various reading levels while ensuring students grasp the core concepts. As we grow our curriculum users and resulting data, we expect our adaptive learning models to become more effective and relevant. 

By focusing on evidence-based learning principles and exploring the potential of adaptive learning technologies, KindEd strives to deliver a dynamic and impactful educational experience for students navigating today's social media landscape.

Full time 3.

Board of directors giving business and strategic advice 3.

Advisory board helping with political landscape, curriculum development, assessment,  and research framework 6.

Volunteers 22.

Since March 2023.

At KindEd, diversity, equity, and inclusion are integral in making our curriculum effective for all students and are, thus, fundamental pillars of our model and mission. Not only is our team composed of individuals of various identities, backgrounds, and experiences, but we also engage a diverse set of stakeholders—including students, parents, and educators—in our product-design processes to ensure our materials are culturally responsive. Our horizontal structure aids a collaborative work environment in which every staff member has a hand in decision making, facilitating both equitable outcomes and a culture of community within the organization. Additionally, it diminishes barriers to advancement by enabling staff to take on roles and projects beyond their job descriptions. As we grow, we hope to review our policies, curriculum, and hiring practices regularly, so as to continue to uphold the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the most effective ways possible.

Our key customers are schools, school districts, and educational organizations. For schools and school districts, KindEd offers a comprehensive social media literacy curriculum that reduces student mental health risks, improves school climate, and supports responsible digital citizenship. Our curriculum empowers students to develop healthier social media habits, leading to improved self-esteem, positive online interactions, and reduced anxiety. We create opportunities for collaboration between parents, teachers, and students, ensuring a holistic approach to youth mental well-being in the digital age.

KindEd is a non-profit organization. We offer our curriculum through a subscription-based model with tiered pricing based on school size and enrollment. We also seek grants and partnerships with foundations and educational organizations to support our mission. We may explore offering a limited free version of our curriculum with basic modules to showcase the program's value and encourage schools to adopt the full paid version.

We align our outreach efforts with procurement cycles and school district needs assessments, participating in seminars and events for parents and educators. We provide one-on-one meetings and plan to give demonstrations at schools and conferences to showcase KindEd's effectiveness. Most importantly we prioritize a bottoms-up approach, building trust through exceptional customer service and implementation support, turning satisfied users into advocates.

Our sales strategy will allow us to grow by using existing trusted networks familiar with our product within Chicago Public Schools to expand our reach. We plan to scale nationally through conferences and partnerships to impact over 48 million students in public schools across the US. We are committed to continuous improvement through ongoing research and development.  By building strong relationships and creating a valuable product, we aim to secure long-term partnerships and ongoing funding to maximize our impact on student well-being in the digital age.

KindEd is committed to long-term financial sustainability. For early traction, we are actively piloting our program with ten schools in Fall 2024, which will provide valuable data on program effectiveness and potential revenue generation. We are collaborating with university faculty advisors to develop strong grant applications for government funding opportunities following our expanded pilot.

KindEd utilizes a subscription-based model for schools and districts. Our model allows us to become self-sustaining after reaching a critical mass of 100 schools. KindEd has been selected to compete in the 2024 John Edwardson Social New Venture Competition, with the potential to receive up to $150,000 in funding.

We will participate in accelerator programs like Polsky LAUNCH to refine our sales and marketing strategies for customer acquisition. Upon proving our effectiveness through pilot data and positive testimonials, we plan to expand aggressively. We will expand by going to school districts in other states, private schools, and charter schools. KindEd will continue to support our existing customer base as we plan to provide social media education to children of all ages by continuing to develop additional age-appropriate curriculum modules and other digital wellness topics.

We are actively building a network of volunteer students, teachers, and parents who share our mission. This strategy will help us keep operational costs low while leveraging the expertise of our supporters. KindEd is committed to continuous improvement and data-driven decision making. By securing a diverse funding base and demonstrating program effectiveness, we plan to become a leading provider of social media education, positively impacting the lives of millions of students nationwide.