The Myspace comeback, Disney on TikTok, and Jimothy the raccoon
For Educators · The Social Institute
A comeback, a creative partnership, and a viral raccoon all point to the same skill this week: helping students show up as themselves online. Here’s what happened and what it means for your classroom.
- Myspace is planning a relaunch: The Vanderhook brothers, who bought the platform in 2011, announced that they plan to bring back the site that launched in 2003 and publicly ranked your friends in a “Top 8,”.
- TikTok and Disney signed a deal: Students can soon make short-form videos using officially licensed Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars elements.
- A Seattle teacher is turning a viral raccoon into a lesson: A teacher is making Jimothy the unofficial mascot for her 2nd and 3rd graders this fall to teach belonging and Media Literacy.
Myspace could be back, and it’s a good time to talk about social pressure
The site that invented the public “Top 8” is planning a comeback, and the pressure it created never really left.
The Gist
The owners of Myspace, one of the most popular social media platforms during the 2000s, announced a plan to relaunch the site. Most of today’s students never used Myspace. Back then, it let you build your own personal page and share the real, unpolished you, but it also publicly ranked your friends in a “Top 8” that everyone could see. That created real pressure. The freedom to be yourself and the stress of being ranked went hand in hand, and it’s the same push and pull students feel online today. New platforms come and go, but the skills to be yourself and handle the pressure, online and offline, are what set students up for success.
What to Know
When MySpace launched in 2003, teens flocked to it to post selfies, leave comments on each other’s pages, and rank their friends in a ‘Top 8’ on their profiles. Users could customize their Myspace profile layout through templates or even test out simplistic HTML/CSS coding skills. Eventually, teens turned to Facebook, and the website lost its luster. The Vanderhook brothers then bought Myspace in 2011, spent years trying to revive it, and now say they’re waiting for the right moment to try again.
The excitement from fans says a lot about what people feel is missing from social media now. With Myspace, people built their own page and posted “raw images, no filters,” as one user told the BBC. Marketing experts told the BBC that today’s feeds run on algorithms built to keep you scrolling, which nudges people to perform instead of just share. It will be interesting to see whether a relaunched Myspace leans into algorithm-driven feeds or focuses on connecting with friends like earlier social media did. Either way, what fans say they miss is the freedom to post as themselves, and that’s exactly what students are after. They want to be real online, and they feel the pressure to look impressive. Whether a Myspace relaunch happens or not, that tension is already in your classroom, and it’s worth naming now.
TSI’s Take
Whether or not Myspace returns, students already feel the pressure to appear a certain way online. Schools have the power to help them handle the pressure and be their true, authentic selves on social media. And sometimes, that means making the decision to not join in on every new app.
Educators can do this by:
- Talking about the pressure to look perfect online: Students who notice how filters, likes, and follower counts make them feel are better prepared to handle it.
- Reminding students they don’t have to join every new platform: A relaunch doesn’t mean it’s the right fit. Choosing where you spend your attention online is an important self-management skill.
- Encouraging students to play to their core: Help them post about what they genuinely care about, so what they share reflects who they really are. That kind of authenticity takes the pressure off.
Help students decide for themselves whether to jump on a trend with the #WinAtSocial Lesson, Online Trending Challenges, where students practice making smart, confident choices about the opportunities they see online.
TikTok just partnered with Disney, and students can now create videos with their favorite characters
Officially licensed Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars clips are coming to TikTok, which turns every student into a creator.
The Gist
TikTok and Disney announced a deal that lets people make short-form videos with officially licensed Disney characters. Soon, students could build their own clips featuring Pixar, Marvel, or Star Wars elements, and Disney may even showcase some of those videos in a feed on Disney+. Disney is also starting a program that gives standout creators a bigger spotlight, entry to special events, and mentorship to grow in their creative career. When a student can build a Marvel or Pixar video in minutes, it’s important that they’re empowered to create content that reflects who they are instead of chasing views.
What to Know
This is a big deal for a lot of students. The characters they grew up watching are now ones they can actually build stories around and share with the world. Becoming a creator instead of only a fan is a significant shift, and it opens up a lot of exciting possibilities for creativity and self-expression.
When a tool this fun is right there on your phone, it’s easy to just make whatever you think will go viral. The better question for students is: what do you actually want to say? Does the content you’re putting out feel like you? And does it reflect the kind of creator you want to be, not just the kind that gets the most views? Those are the conversations that turn a cool new feature into a real learning moment that fosters students’ creativity.
TSI’s Take
This deal hands students a creative platform and a recognizable cast of characters. What they do with it is where the real lesson lives.
Educators can help students step into that creative space thoughtfully by:
- Encouraging creation over consumption: Help students start with the message they want to share, before they think about attention.
- Connecting creativity to identity: The character is Disney’s, but the story is theirs. Ask students: what do you want people to know about you through what you make?
- Using this as a natural entry point for a classroom project: Video essays, short-form storytelling, and book-to-screen adaptations are all fair game now, and students are already motivated by the material.
Help students bring their own ideas to life with the #WinAtSocial Lesson, Creative thinking in the age of AI, where students explore how to grow their creativity as technology keeps changing.
How one teacher is turning Jimothy, a viral raccoon, into a lesson on belonging for students
A Seattle teacher is turning millions of views into hands-on lessons on kindness, belonging, and Media Literacy.
The Gist
A Seattle teacher is using Jimothy, the viral raccoon beloved for his unique appearance, as an unofficial classroom mascot for her 2nd and 3rd graders this fall. She plans to use him to teach inclusivity, belonging, and Media Literacy, complete with writing activities and a kindness reward system. Over the past few weeks, Jimothy has charmed millions online, thanks to his short, round frame and a wobbly walk. This viral moment is a chance to practice kindness and Media Literacy at once, learning to celebrate what makes each person unique and to understand why a story like Jimothy’s takes off online.
What to Know
Rachel Pendergast-Weiss, a 12-year classroom veteran at Dearborn Park International School, wanted to turn the online craze into a real lesson. When students return to school in the fall, Jimothy will be her unofficial mascot, along with a stuffed raccoon she sewed herself. She’s using his story to spark conversations about belonging, Media Literacy, and caring for wildlife, helping students see that being different is worth celebrating and that everyone deserves to feel safe and included.
The activities get hands-on. Students will keep journals written from Jimothy’s point of view, make comic strips and mock news articles, and debate whether he should be Seattle’s official mascot. All year, the class can earn raccoon “paw prints” for kind acts, like including a classmate at recess or picking up litter, then trade them in for class rewards. Pendergast-Weiss hopes they finish the year caring more about their community and each other.
TSI’s Take
Jimothy went viral for being exactly himself, and that’s worth talking about with students. His story gives students a clear message: the things that make someone different are worth celebrating.
Educators can use a trend students already love to spark real conversations about kindness and belonging by:
- Using the trend as a discussion starter: Ask students why Jimothy went viral and what it says about the kind of people (and raccoons) we root for.
- Connecting it to belonging: Have students recall a time they felt included for being themselves, then talk about how they can give that feeling to someone else.
- Bringing it into a class project: Borrow ideas like journaling from Jimothy’s point of view or earning “paw prints” for kind acts to make the lesson hands-on.
Help students build a classroom where everyone belongs with the #WinAtSocial Lesson, The Great Kindness Challenge, where students put kindness and inclusion into practice.
What makes someone worth paying attention to online? Myspace’s Top 8 answered popularity. Disney’s new creator tools answer creativity. Jimothy the raccoon answers being exactly who you are, wobbly walk included. Students will land on their own answer whether or not we’re in the room for it, so let’s give them the practice to land somewhere good. That’s what #WinAtSocial is built for. Want to see how it looks in your school? Request a demo and we’ll walk you through it.