THE PROBLEM
I have noticed that social media has become more normalized nowadays and it is also used differently throughout the generations. It seems younger generations may lack some general common sense when it comes to social media usage. I have also noticed and experienced a lot of negative effects of social media and realized society has not yet changed to accommodate this issue.
RESEARCH QUESTION
Now that social media is the new norm, how can we prevent the negative effects it has on this newer generation?
SUCCESS STATEMENT
My goal is to educate students entering middle school, and evidently starting social media on how to form healthy habits pertaining to social media.
TARGET AUDIENCE
What's Up? is for kids entering middle school. Parents and teachers are also included in the success of this program.
RESEARCH
After reading numerous articles, I was not finding the information I was looking for. So, I sent out surveys to young adults, parents, and teachers. This provided me with the information I could not find anywhere else.
I learned from young adults about their general social media habits and their interactions with younger generations on social media. From this, I gathered that young adults recognize negative effect but they aren't quite sure what to do about it.
I asked parents about their children's social media habits and the effects they may have noticed. I learned that kids get their first social media accounts around age 12 and parents tend to see negative effects over time.
I asked teachers that have been teaching for a while about behavioral differences they have seen in their students since the birth of social media. Unfortunately, they have also seen a lot of negative effects from increases in mental illnesses to lack of communication skills and more.
DESIGN PROCESS
After researching, I decided to develop an educational program for students entering middle school. I wanted kids to remember their experiences so I chose to have them engage in hands-on activities and receive stickers as a reward for each activity. I also wanted their parents to know what they have learned and be able to enforce these healthy habits at home so a letter will be sent home to the parents. When it came to designing activities, I met with a middle childhood education professor to ensure they would be impactful and efficient.
As for visuals, I wanted What's Up? to be fun, engaging , and memorable event for the kids. I used a lot of different colors throughout my branding accompanied by playful shapes to generate interest.
DESIGN SOLUTION
What's Up is a program for kids entering middle school and evidently starting social media to learn about building healthy habits pertaining to social media. The program travels to different schools and utilizes parent volunteers to run the program, in addition to a What's Up? representative. The goal of the program is to promote positivity, individuality, and self affirmation in addition to positive social media usage.
