We're All Craving Connection, But Nobody Wants to Ask First
Plus ideas and tips for how we can change that!
Hey In The Loop readers,
Happy July! At #HalfTheStory, we talk a lot—we mean, a lot—about how teens power our work from the ground up. And that extends to this newsletter, too.
As we continue to grow and connect with more young change makers across the globe, we want you to meet the faces who are actually shaping this movement and contributing to our monthly newsletter. This month, we had the pleasure of hearing from Vyomini, one of our first-ever Digital Civics Academy participants back in 2024, now turned storyteller and Teen Advisor!
Hey! I am Vyomini and I’m a rising college freshman from North Carolina. I got my first phone when I was in middle school and had no idea how it was impacting my mental health.
My sophomore year I was looking for things to do over the summer and I came across #HalfTheStory’s Digital Civics Academy.
That summer changed my life.
After it ended, I joined the Creator Collective and later, the Teen Advisory Board. When I first joined #HalfTheStory, I was 15 and now I’m 18.
If you want to know more about digital civics and wellbeing go check out our website.
Other than limiting my screen time, I enjoy cooking, doing nails, and journaling. I am always down to try something new and I love to go out!
Enjoy reading the rest of the newsletter!
– Vyomini V.
Say Hi To Our 2026 Digital Civics Academy Cohort!
95 teens. 70 cities. 7 countries. We’re so excited to welcome our third Digital Civics Academy cohort in just a few weeks! This is a group of ambitious, creative, and innovative youth participants who will spend one week learning from leaders across tech policy and media while gaining the skills to shape the future of tech! Learn more about them here.
Have Something to Say to Big Tech?
On July 17th, our friends over at Design it For Us are hosting a national day of action where young people across the US will be writing postcards to Big Tech CEOs with our stories and hopes for the future of tech. This is all about raising public awareness and increasing engagement around this issue while building community IRL! If you’re in NYC, the Bay Area, or Colorado, consider stopping by!
At #HalfTheStory, we look at both sides of the internet, so here are the latest trends and tips you should know. And who knows…maybe watch out for👇
🔥 What’s Hot:
Should we take away phones or give space back? Digital Civics Academy alum, Ben Forman, gave a TEDx Talk on why he believes phone ban policies aren’t the end-all-be-all solution to solving the loneliness crisis. Instead, he proposes that we start investing in initiatives that actually give space back to young people. Sound familiar? 👀
Toy Story 5 is more than a movie about toys versus tech. 🧸📲 It’s a mirror to the society we seem to live in right now — a society where technology has replaced human interaction in more ways than one. But what if it’s also a wake-up call to the world? One that forces us to have hard conversations about the world we want future generations to grow up in and the narratives we hold about technology and its impact on people. If you haven’t seen it, give it a watch and see what questions and ideas it sparks for you!
Social media’s role in creating citizens of the world. As the World Cup quarterfinals continue, let’s take a moment to recognize how it’s bringing people together from across the globe and the role of social media in creating citizens of the world. At times when the world can feel extremely divided, the last month has been an example of true global citizenship and how regardless of nationality, fans are sharing their love of both soccer and community. Seeing people root passionately for their favorite teams gives us HOPE!! ⚽️✨
👎 What’s Not:
⚠️ A recent report by the Heat Initiative and Cybersafety Research Center found that most child safety features on social media apps don’t live up to their promises. For example, if you create a teen account on Instagram, it’s private by default, however, when tested, Instagram still suggested profiles of unknown adults. On YouTube, a 60-minute time limit can effortlessly turn into three hours because you can simply choose to “ignore limit for today”. Here are some thoughts on what we can do about this.
Is it a good thing that Instagram is the new LinkedIn? What started as a photo-sharing app is now becoming the #1 way Gen Z is searching for and even landing jobs and internships. Rather than trying to adapt to the “performative nature of LinkedIn”, we’re using Instagram to build our personal brand, vet organizations for their company culture, and romanticize futures where we’re working at our dream company. At the same time, your feed is probably inundated with videos like this and this telling you “you’re cooked if you aren’t doing X, Y, Z!” We’re here to remind you that this friction is REAL and that it’s actually okay to log off and have a balanced summer.✌️
Should we bring DVDs back? 📀 Before the age of streaming, physical media was everywhere. Now, streaming services give us endless options, but that abundance comes at a cost: viewers rarely appreciate a film as a whole anymore. The subscription costs pile up, and ironically, having so many choices makes it harder to actually choose. Movies and shows have become background noise instead of something to pay attention to. In an age of depleting attention spans, where scrolling through movies is the norm, physical media is a reminder to be intentional. So, before you stream a movie, ask yourself: do you really care about what you are watching? Or will you just scroll your way through it?
If curiosity is a depleting resource in a highly digitalized world — how can we change that? Criminal justice reform advocate, Lea Nepomuceno, creates videos teaching people the power of conversations and intellectual intimacy. From questions like “when was the last time you changed your mind?” to “how do you define fun?”, they’re a great break from the algorithm!
Gone are the days of paying for less screen time! Apparently, a secret Apple feature can turn your phone into a dumb phone.
Here’s how ⬇️
Head into Settings, tap Accessibility
Scroll down to General at the very bottom, and tap Assistive Access
Tap Set Up Assistive Access and hit Continue
Select your preferred Appearance: rows or grid. Choose grid for the large tiles
Choose your allowed apps
Triple-click the side button on your phone to activate Assistive Access
Thanks for scrolling along with us! Don’t leave us on read…subscribe…we’ll be back next month! In the meantime, stay ‘In The Loop’ daily by keeping up with us @halfthestory on all socials! 🤩
