The Feed Effect: How Your Online World is Built for You

How much of your online world is actually shaped by you? And how much is being shaped for you?

During U.S. Media Literacy Week, NAMLE’s Youth Advisory Council will lead a high school class through The Feed Effect: How Your Online World Is Built for You, an interactive exploration of how our online behavior, data, algorithms, and personalized feeds are all connected.

Led by students, for students, this session will help participants think more critically about their digital experiences, ask better questions about how their feeds are built, and consider how they can make more informed choices about the media they encounter online.

Navigating the Manosphere: Harmful Online Masculinity Content and Youth

What are boys and young men finding online when they search for advice about masculinity, relationships, and fitness — or even just scroll through their “for you” feed? Algorithms and persuasive influencers can quickly guide young men into the “manosphere” — a network of online communities where healthy self-improvement tips often mix with rigid, exaggerated, misogynistic, and harmful views on gender and relationships.

While the content of the manosphere varies and may sometimes appear harmless at first glance, prolonged exposure can shape young people’s real-world behavior, attitudes toward women, mental health, relationships, and even physical health.

Join Children and Screens for our next #AskTheExperts webinar “Navigating the Manosphere: Harmful Online Masculinity Content and Youth” on Wednesday, October 28 at 5:30pm ET on Zoom. Expert panelists will discuss the pathways that lead youth to the manosphere, the impact of engagement in these spaces on their beliefs, behavior, and well-being, and how parents and educators can help young people critically evaluate the messages they encounter while supporting healthier expressions of masculinity.

UnMuted: Amplify Youth Summit

Welcome to UnMuted

The mic is on. You in? 🎤✨

Three days. Less adult noise, more youth-driven solutions. We’re kicking off U.S. Media Literacy Week by bringing together the bold young leaders rewriting the script on digital wellbeing. The future is being shaped right now, and we’re turning the volume all the way up.

We’re excited to announce the second annual UnMuted Amplify Youth Summit hosted by the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital, NAMLE, and the McGee Applied Research Center for Narrative Studies taking place from October 22-25 at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.

We’re building on the incredible momentum of our inaugural summit by bringing together young people (ages 14-22) from around the US, industry leaders, nonprofits, and researchers for honest dialogue, collaborative problem-solving, and action around digital wellbeing.

Through interactive experiences designed for and with youth, participants will help shape real solutions, co-creating pathways toward healthier digital spaces while building the agency, tools, and connections needed to thrive both online and off.