Blog

Are you contemplating whether or not to buy your child their first smartphone this holiday season? It’s a decision faced by millions of parents and one that charges to the forefront every holiday season. Laura Tierney, Founder & CEO of The Social Institute, offers up four key questions to ask to ensure you make the right decision for your family, and five immediate steps to set your child up for success.

Is social media to blame for the rising levels of stress and anxiety in today’s youth? Or do new studies suggest a wave of exaggerated and unfound fears? Here’s a closer look into both the positive and negative effects of social media along with some ideas for how to best support students learning to navigate their social world.

For Deans of Students throughout the country, instituting social media and technology policies sits among the most unenviable tasks. How do you keep up with technology that changes every day? Before joining The Social Institute as Partner Success Manager, Lutkus spent 13 years working in independent schools, including five as the Dean of Students at Gaston Day School in North Carolina. As a senior school administrator, he oversaw the transition from flip-phone to smartphone and social media’s rise to prominence, a seemingly overnight development that left schools scrambling to play catch-up.

“Our classrooms are an extension of society. It’s not a bubble. Everything happening out there is coming into our classrooms.” Senior administrators share what they’ve learned so far this fall as school communities navigate 2020’s busy intersection of COVID, social unrest and social media.

Many schools shifted online in the wake of COVID-19, depriving students of social connections essential to happiness and well-being. Two students reveal specific ways how they – and millions of others – have turned to social media platforms as a way of connecting with others and filling the social void.

The Social Institute unveiled five topics that will be featured this fall in #WinAtSocial LIVE, their social-emotional learning curriculum that helps students address trending, current events. 

#WinAtSocial Summit 2020: Empowering Educators in SEL, Social Media, and Technology.

• August 19 – 20, 2020 | Register now  

The #WinAtSocial Summit is a two-day virtual experience that will bring together leading voices and experts to discuss best-in-class strategies for social-emotional learning (SEL), crafted for the digital classroom.

The Social Institute (TSI) announced today that they will be hosting their inaugural #WinAtSocial Summit: Empowering educators in SEL, Social Media, and Technology on August 19-20, 2020. This free, two-day immersive experience will bring together leading voices and experts to discuss best-in-class strategies for social-emotional learning (SEL), crafted for the digital classroom. Join us to explore ways we can support students’ health, happiness, and future success. #WinAtSocial

In one post, @IzzyBashara went from TikTok creator to TikTok viral. We huddled with her about what it was like coming back to her phone with hundreds of notifications and how she is handling the continued fandom today. 

We (virtually) sat down with Angela Mackenzie, Director of Library and Digital Literacy at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School to discuss the positive impacts mandatory SEL had has on their school community during COVID-19. 

Insights and free resources from students, educators, and counseling professionals about facilitating productive conversations about race.

The Social Institute announced partnerships with two additional public schools and one public school district. Northview High School, Burgaw Middle School, and Lake Forest School District now join 60+ other schools and districts around the country to provide students with the world’s first-ever gamified curriculum addressing SEL, social media, and technology: #WinAtSocial. 

We (virtually) sat down with a high school senior who started an Instagram account dedicated to sharing good news.

From TikTok Dances to virtual 5Ks, students and school leaders are finding creative ways to encourage activity.

Due to COVID-19, middle and high school students are taking a crash course in free time, connection, and self-care.