Guest Blog Post | A case study of positive and creative social media for kids
We are excited to partner with Zigazoo, a company that provides a safe social media platform for kids, to bring you this guest blog post from their founder and Director of Impact, Leah Ringelstein.
66% of parents are concerned about their kids’ social media use and yet at least one-third of TikTok’s users are under the age of 14. For students, social media is being social, and it is becoming an increasingly present component in their lives. The popular response to this reality has been failed attempts at scaring and restricting kids or “kid-proofing” these spaces to try to “plug up the live outlets and put in some baby gates.” But when we think about the real-world places where kids play vs. where adults play (let’s say playgrounds vs. bars) we construct them with entirely different architecture with each population in mind.
This is how we need to approach social media. Kids (and let’s be honest, even adults!) can benefit from learning how to regulate and make good decisions online.
Empowering youth through safe social media use
As parents and former educators, my husband and I founded Zigazoo in 2020, a safe social media platform for kids designed to build confidence and teach healthy digital citizenship skills. We used what worked in our classrooms- inspiring presentation, structured practice, and joy to reimagine social media that suits kids and their needs. We have been able to build a community of over 8 million happy families who recognize the benefits that thoughtful social media use can have on creative expression, social connection, exposure to diversity, and practice with safety and positivity. The key here is spaces built FOR kids with their happiness and health in mind. Pause here to ask yourself what would a space like this look like.
Zigazoo is an example of a digital tool created not just by duct-taping foam on the sharp corners of TikTok, but by building on a solid foundation of child development and health. We celebrate not only the joyful and positive growth of our own community but seek to raise the bar for digital spaces at large so that the protection and empowerment of our youth can guide development and decision-making.
Blending project based learning and positive social media
When we asked ourselves the question above, we started with the obvious things: Airtight security around who is allowed in the community and also the content that is viewed. But beyond these basic security features, our educational background informs the necessity of setting a healthy tone in any community. For kids to learn to behave positively online, protect themselves, and advocate against harmful behaviors, they need structure and practice. Some of the most powerful pedagogy that we witnessed in our classrooms was called Project Based Learning. It is an amazing instructional model where kids are provided with inspiration, guidelines, and central questions and encouraged to take the lead in their own learning and present their findings to a real-world audience. They don’t just sit back and listen and they don’t just stand up and say whatever, they are guided to explore a topic that provides a genuine connection to their learning and also a play-based bond with the people they are collaborating with.
Zigazoo follows this model by allowing partners like museums, celebrities, the NBA, and other kids to present an inspirational video and then pose a challenge question that invites Zigazoo kids to show what they know, think, and love. It is really amazing to watch kids take so much pride in sharing their free throw skills, their dance moves, their Squishmallow collections, and their perspectives on the world. While they are doing this they are learning how to use presentation skills, becoming part of a conversation with diverse perspectives, bonding with kids beyond their own community, and learning about interesting content in engaging ways.
In addition to educational pedagogy, we incorporated the community-building skills that we learned in the classroom. Each time we managed a classroom we knew that at the center of success was teaching our students to be kind and positive and to care about one another. When they felt encouraged by their classmates they had the confidence to take risks, to share their ideas, and to grow. Zigazoo is carefully constructed to create that same feeling with positive-only feedback mechanisms, algorithms that honor hard work, and a community that is coached to set a tone of encouragement. When tasked to practice high-fives only, kids learn how to build each other up and they learn what it feels like to be celebrated for their creativity.
Vision for a positive online future
I believe that if we light a path of goodness we can make a better world. Sure there is a lot of dark stuff out there. Still, we made Zigazoo to be that place where you only get positive feedback, where you feel your own little spotlight and are asked to share what YOU think, what YOU love, and what YOU can do and you are given a million chances to practice celebrating others for what they share. It’s validating and it’s a training ground for kindness and confidence.
Social media spreads ideas, we know that. Zigazoo is an example of spreading the idea of kindness, encouragement, and collaboration, and honestly, kids are the best leaders in that! I am inspired by them every day! I share about the amazing space that we have created using Project Based Learning and positivity at its core to let families who are looking for this kind of digital training ground know where to turn but also to let the industry know we can do better than adapting adult spaces and hoping that kids will thrive there. We are seeing too much confidence destroyed this way. Young people use social media in their lives every day and we need to reimagine what the platforms that they engage with look like by backward planning from healthy outcomes.
The Social Institute is on Zigazoo! Complete their challenges now by downloading the app and keep up with Zigazoo by following @ZigazooKids on Facebook and Instagram!
Always stay up-to-date with the latest and greatest trends online by subscribing to our newsletter where we talk about trending tech and social media news weekly! In the meantime, check out our Instagram and TikTok @thesocialinst for tips, trends, and highlights when it comes to social media.
The Social Institute (TSI) is the leader in empowering students by understanding students. Through #WinAtSocial, our gamified, peer-to-peer learning platform, we equip students, educators, and families to navigate their social world – in the classroom and beyond, online and offline – in healthy, high-character ways. Our unique, student-respected approach empowers and equips, rather than scares and restricts. We incorporate timely topics about social media, tech use, and current events that are impacting student well-being and learning. #WinAtSocial Lessons teach life skills for the modern day, capture student voice, and provide school leaders with actionable insights. Through these insights, students play an essential role in school efforts to support their own health, happiness, and future success as we enable high-impact teaching, meaningful family conversations, and a healthy school culture.