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TikTok’s Nearby Feed, Student-led Journalism, + Social Media Breaks: How students are connecting and promoting their well-being with social media

What TikTok’s new ‘Nearby Feed’ feature means for student safety and connection

The Gist: TikTok is rolling out a new ‘Nearby Feed’ that highlights posts from local communities, helping users discover restaurants, events, creators, and places to explore in their area. While this update gives students new ways to connect with their local communities, it also creates an important opportunity to teach digital safety, privacy awareness, and responsible use of location settings.

What to Know: The Nearby Feed uses location data, content categories, and posting time to surface videos from a user’s immediate area. Students may discover new local spaces, events, or creators who highlight uplifting community moments. This can strengthen connections between students and their environments IRL. It can also help them see technology as a tool for exploration rather than just entertainment.

However, this feature also underscores the importance of digital literacy, specifically how to protect their privacy. Students need to know how location tools impact what they see and who can view their content. Understanding these settings helps them stay safe while enjoying the benefits of discovering their communities. When guided thoughtfully, the Nearby Feed can help students explore locally without compromising privacy.

TSI’s Take: Being aware of the privacy concerns and risks with their favorite apps helps students stay safe and confident as platforms evolve. Schools can support them by encouraging students to:

• See location settings as part of safety: Understanding what is shared empowers students to make informed choices.
• Try exploring their world with caution: The events, restaurants, or other organizations featured in this new feature might be a great way for students to learn more about their communities. But they should always check in with their families before heading out to a new place.
• Practice mindful posting: Thinking before sharing a post with a location tag or even a post that captures identifying location details helps students stay aligned with their values and protect their privacy.

Want to help students practice responsible and safe choices online? Explore the #WinAtSocial Lesson, Personal app privacy settings, where students weigh the pros and cons of sharing different types of information online and reflect on which information they wouldn’t want shared with others and why.

Teen journalists show what tech for good really looks like

The Gist: A group of high school students in Michigan is using their mics for good by providing breaking updates to thousands of followers in their local community. Their work demonstrates how students can use technology constructively and creatively to inform, support, and uplift others. It is a compelling reminder that students are never too young to make a meaningful impact when they lead with curiosity and purpose.

What to Know: After noticing limited local news coverage in Livingston and Oakland counties, the high school students launched the Facebook page, Enroute Media. Motivated by a desire to help people in their community stay informed, they began sharing updates about school events, weather alerts, and community happenings. Their accuracy, consistency, and commitment quickly earned the trust of thousands of community members who now rely on their reporting.

The team approaches each story with care, focusing on safety, accuracy, and empathy. Teachers and community members have praised their leadership, demonstrating how student-driven initiatives can strengthen communities, while highlighting the real-world skills students develop when they use technology with intention and purpose.

TSI’s Take: Students and their communities thrive when they are empowered to use their mics for good. Schools can support this by encouraging students to:

• See technology as a tool for impact: Students can use their platforms to serve, inform, and uplift those around them.
• Try projects that spark curiosity: Exploring new skills helps students grow and find future paths that they may not have considered in the past.
• Create with purpose: Through blogs, podcasts, videos, or social media, students can share encouraging stories, spotlight issues that matter, and motivate others with their ideas.

Just as these high school students are using tech to prepare for their own futures, possibly as journalists, you can help your own students prepare for their futures with the #WinAtSocial Lesson, Mastering interviews with colleges, universities, or employers. 

A recent study reveals that taking a step back from social media strengthens student well-being and focus

The Gist: A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that reducing social media use for even one week can significantly improve symptoms of anxiety, depression, and poor sleep in young adults. This aligns with what many educators already see: constant scrolling can chip away at students’ focus, resilience, and emotional balance. 

At the same time, superstar Taylor Swift recently shared that she keeps social media apps off her phone, a practical reminder that small, intentional digital habits can make a meaningful difference. When people in the public eye model mindful tech use, students notice.

What to Know: Research continues to connect social media breaks with well-being. Students who limited their social media use showed measurable improvements in well-being, reinforcing a recent meta-analysis linking reduced screen time with higher overall life satisfaction. While not all digital engagement is negative, the nonstop cycle of notifications, comparisons, and content overload can strain students’ mood, sleep, attention, and confidence.

This, along with Taylor Swift’s choice to remove social media apps from her phone, demonstrates that simple boundaries can reduce friction, making it easier for students to stay present and focus on academics, relationships, sleep, and personal interests. This small shift can help students feel more in control of their time and more grounded throughout the school day.

TSI’s Take: Equipping students with healthy tech habits is an opportunity for schools to support well-being, focus, and healthier decision-making. Schools can help students:

• See downtime as a reset: Short breaks from scrolling help students relax, refocus, and reduce emotional strain.
• Try redirecting their time: Choosing activities they enjoy gives students opportunities to reconnect with their interests and relationships.
• Practice mindful engagement: Being aware of how content affects their mood helps students make more intentional choices.

Help students navigate any platform confidently and with greater self-awareness. Preview the #WinAtSocial Lesson, Inspiring peers and adults around us to strike a balance with tech, where students learn to recognize digital pressures, build healthy boundaries, and take control of their well-being.

Whether they’re discovering new places through the Nearby Feed, reporting breaking news for their community, or taking a break from constant scrolling, students make healthier choices when schools guide them with positive, practical support. By teaching digital literacy, privacy awareness, and healthy boundaries, educators help students build confidence both online and offline. Request a demo of #WinAtSocial, The Social Institute’s positive, proactive approach to these modern life skills that strengthen student learning and well-being.

The Social Institute (TSI) is the leader in equipping students, families, and educators with modern life skills to impact learning, well-being, and students’ futures. Through #WinAtSocial, our interactive, peer-to-peer learning platform, we integrate teacher PD, family resources, student voice insights, and more to empower entire school communities to make positive choices online and offline. #WinAtSocial Lessons teach essential skills while capturing student voice and actionable insights for educators. These insights help educators maintain a healthy school culture, foster high-impact teaching, and build meaningful relationships with families. Our unique, student-respected approach empowers and equips students authentically, enabling our solution to increase classroom participation and improve student-teacher relationships. Through our one-of-a-kind lesson development process, we create lessons for a variety of core and elective classes, incorporating timely topics such as social media, A.I., screen time, misinformation, and current events to help schools stay proactive in supporting student health, happiness, and academic success.