Youth Voices
From Our Team
Susan Reynolds
Co-Founder and Board Chair
All Blog Posts
How Discovering Digital Wellness Changed My Life
Growing up, everyday technology use has looked the same—mindless hours spent on addictive technology like social media, video games, Netflix, and so on. Living a life distracted by technology has come with many negative side effects, but it took a pandemic for me to appreciate the value of my time and to truly want something better
60 Days of Disconnect: I Deleted Social Media During the Pandemic
The pinnacle of my self-awareness, social-awareness, and motivation to make a difference initialized during lockdown. I lost access to an assortment of activities, especially socializing with my friends which gravitated me toward my phone.
If Someone Told You That You Were Wasting Your Life, Would You Do Something About It?
According to CNN, teenagers spend, on average, 7 hours a day on their screens. Most of us already knew this shocking statistic but my concern is the mass amount of time spent on social media, the true beast causing the widespread issues in our society. You can always get more money, but you can never get more time; it is precious.
How Gen Z Innovators are Making Tech Human Again
“If not me then who, if not now then when?”
This quote, recited by Emma Watson at the HeforShe Summit, was clearly exemplified during the 2021 LookUp Innovator Showcase, I attended this past week…
LookUp and Thrive Global Announce the “LookUp to Thrive” Writing Challenge Amplify Your Voice to Adv
We want to hear from you!When you think of activists or advocates who are changing the world, do you think of those who are writing, blogging, and speaking as change agents? We do, and we want to share the “LookUp to Thrive” Writing Challenge with you.
From FINSTAS to RINSTAS: Social Media and Its Impact on Young Women and Girls
This unique panel convenes young women who are willing to take a stance against major corporations and tackle misogynist algorithms with the young girls who have been negatively impacted by social media…
How Global Youth Advocates are Taking On Tech
The Summit was truly an example of youth leading and inspiring youth. From startups to TED Talks, these young leaders are already taking action and creating change…
LookUp and The Social Dilemma Announce Impact Partnership
Two leading forces, LookUp, a youth-inspired social enterprise, and the Netflix Docu-drama, The Social Dilemma, are teaming up to embolden Gen Z to take action and pitch solutions via a StartUp Grant Competition and the Youth 4 Youth Summit…
“The Social Dilemma” Calls for Action: Gen Z Answers
We empower Gen Z to create and develop solutions that counteract the harms of social media dependence, digital overload, and social isolation while activating tech for good and digital activism. The release of The Social Dilemma brings these issues to the forefront. Have you seen it?
Your Life On[the]line
In our transient world, technology is redefining our human experience. Apps that are connecting friends over thousands of miles are simultaneously bringing nations to the brink of war…
How Young People Are Using "Tech for Good" to Maintain and Make New Friends in Isolation
In order to maintain relationships throughout quarantine my friends and I would schedule weekly zoom calls that would consist of different games, talking to one another about how we were feeling emotionally/ mentally…
Going to School Online? Read These Students' Tips for Tech-Life Balance
After running a pilot at Dartmouth College, I realized adult solutions might be good for some, but many other students had their own ideas about how to manage their technology use…
I Tried a LookUp Challenge, And It Improved My Mental Health
In my perspective, I saw giving up social media as giving up the connection I had with my friends. So, why would I want to do that? I made this choice when I was diagnosed with clinical depression…
How I Brought Tech-Life Balance to My Community
I’ve heard this so many times. My generation is one of the first to have cell phones and technology as such a large part of our lives and the problems this causes are not being addressed. I see this everywhere I look: from myself, to my classmates, to the kids I babysit...
Teens Are Missing Out on Social Development — But They Don’t Have To Be
What happens, then, when conversations become too emotional or complex to work out through a series of Tweets or text messages?
How I Use Stickers to Promote Tech-Life Balance
I see the most misuse of technology when I’m with my friends. Most of the time when we hang out, my friends ignore me because they are so consumed by their phones. Not only do I lose quality time with my friends, but also I feel extremely disrespected…
I Created an App to Solve Anxiety-Driven Insomnia, And It's Super Cute
This is the story of how the Sleepy Pets team came to win Dartmouth’s first-ever Designathon as well as a tribute to a group of friends arduously working to alleviate the issue of anxiety-driven insomnia—something that is relevant to me on a personal level…
Tech-Life Balance is More Important Than Ever. Here Is One Way to Achieve It.
If there is one key step you can take to transform your technology usage right now, it is to take a deep breath and ask your intention every time you pick up your screen…
I’m 15, and I Choose to Use a Flip Phone — Here’s Why
“I mean, if you have a flip phone, how do you even live?” They exclaimed in a tone of voice that seemed to imply a mix of shock and even slight anger…
Keegan Lee, author of “60 Days of Disconnect,” talks about the connection social media has on our collective sense of self-control.