Generation Remix

Innovation was the central theme of 2026 for our team. To prepare for growth of our peer-to-peer model, we got in the lab to codesign a leadership system that would organize, incentivize, and track our teen leader impact as they worked hard to spread digital literacy and wellbeing. Through the process, Remix Studio was created and tested! We are thrilled to share this case study by Generation Remix summer intern, Paige C., which captures our codesign process alongside youth, how Remix Studio helped onboard new leaders at Roseland Club through our partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma-Marin, and the exciting work we did this summer with Develop for Good to create the mobile designs for V2 of Remix Studio. Thank you to Jennifer Wolfe for serving as a case study guide and mentor during the process, and to our friends at BGCA Jason Weiss and Jackie Chin, and Develop for Good, Mary Zhu and Michael Gabrielle! https://lnkd.in/eMg8SJsd

Generation Remix is proud to have Alex King and Luke Goforth, two of our Remix youth leaders, selected as part of the SHIELD Youth Council! As council members, Alex and Luke will share Generation Remix’s work with youth leaders around the world. Generation Remix is a member of the SHIELD the Future global coalition of nonprofits focused on digital trust and safety. Shield is a nonprofit working to change the decisions about our digital future that include the people they affect most. Shield organizes and amplifies grassroots community voices, especially the voices of youth, to restore balance in tech. This ensures the decisions shaping our digital world reflect the full spectrum of experiences of the generation growing up in it, as Generation Remix supports. The Shield Global Youth Council integrates young people into Shield's work at every level. It brings together youth from around the world to mobilize their voices and advocate for real engagement between stakeholders, young people, and partner organizations. The goal: move youth from consultation to decision-making, and ensure they help shape the systems meant to protect them from the start. This is exactly the kind of work Generation Remix was built to support, and the kind of impact Alex and Luke are ready to create for our digital future.  Alex and Luke are excited to represent Generation Remix in this initiative, driving positive change alongside mission-aligned nonprofits worldwide. Along the way, they will grow as leaders, build cross-cultural collaboration skills, and take on their generation's defining challenge, all while connecting with new friends and mentors across the globe. Luke was first inspired to focus on digital wellbeing and tech ethics through his work with Generation Remix. When sharing why he applied as a Shield council member, he said, “I want to continue working on issues pertaining to technology and AI, and when I learned about the Youth Council, I thought it was a great way to do so. I’m really excited about the global perspective on modern issues that the Council offers. The Council is a very necessary organization in today’s world.”  Alex shared, “For me, the project was so meaningful because it gave me and other kids who have been unheard in the discussion of AI (for reasons from age to location) a true voice in shaping what has so clearly been shaping our lives. So often that fact has been ignored, and the discussion of AI limited to those who have very little understanding of what it's like to grow up in the age of AI. Adults don’t have the experience we do, yet they are the ones shaping policies for the younger society's future world! It’s incredibly important to include the vast array of countries in the Shield Youth Council as AI is not a US or Europe issue, not a young or old issue, but an everyone, everywhere issue.”

Remixer Post by Paige C. Generation Remix recently collaborated on the Youth AI Manifesto, a powerful call to action to AI creators and policymakers to share our generation’s ideas and concerns for how AI should be developed. When I heard about this project, I knew I had to participate. The Youth Manifesto project was developed as part of the iRAISE coalition's contribution to global forums on Artificial Intelligence and its impact on future generations. Seeing AI evolve from a developing technology into an integral part of everyday life has been eye-opening. I have come to view AI as one of the biggest uncertainties for my future career. The World Economic Forum projects that AI and automation may displace 85–92 million jobs globally by 2030, and while new jobs are emerging alongside this decline, it’s difficult to predict where job security in the communications field will remain strong. As I prepare to enter the workforce, seeing companies adopt AI for tasks creates new challenges, especially when companies are using AI to do communications work that I am preparing to do. Hearing that AI is being used to screen applicants through keyword filters is discouraging too. It makes the hiring process black and white without the human component, but talent and potential cannot be reduced to a checklist. We don't want to watch the future unfold without a say. We want to help design and integrate AI in a way that maximizes human potential rather than replacing it. Another Generation Remix team member, Nora, said she was excited to participate in the Youth AI Manifesto because “young people should have a voice in the decisions shaping our future. AI affects how we learn, communicate, and interact every day, and it's important that leaders hear directly from our generation as we are growing up with this new technology.”  Today’s youth will inherit a new AI-driven world and workforce; we deserve to be a part of the conversation shaping it. Youth AI Manifesto link: https://lnkd.in/gVws9_tN 

Remixer Post by Luke Goforth Digital wellbeing is an important conversation for young people everywhere, but especially relevant for LGBTQ+ youth. For many queer teens, online spaces provide opportunities for self-expression and community that may not be available in their everyday lives. According to the Born This Way Foundation, 88% of LGBTQ+ young people feel connected and less alone after receiving support online. The internet can offer a sense of belonging, allowing young people to find similar people in ways they could not easily find elsewhere. Many LGBTQ+ individuals know someone whose involvement in online queer communities has played a significant role in their life. Personally, many of the people I grew up with found friendship and connection through online spaces. While the internet can be a valuable source of connection, it also presents risks. More than one in three LGBTQ+ young people experience cyberbullying due to their identity. When interacting online, it can be difficult to know who someone truly is. I have known people who formed online relationships at a young age only to discover that the person they trusted was fake. Because LGBTQ+ youth may be more likely to seek support online when they fear rejection or discrimination in person, they can be exposed more frequently to these risks. The combination of the vulnerability of youth and online anonymity makes digital safety important for queer young people. Working with Generation Remix, teens can make a difference in the lives of kids all over the world. We can teach those we care about how to stay safe online while engaging in a supportive community online. Online spaces, while possibly dangerous, are proving to be an important place for young queer people, for 95% of LGBTQ+ youth felt appreciative for support they received online. As the generation who will inherit the digital world, the youth are best suited to make it a safe, accepting space for all.  As a Remixer myself, I feel that I have been able to give back to my community and to support people who need my help. Generation Remix has encouraged me to reflect on the impact that social media and technology have had on my story. The modern queer experience is often closely intertwined with online spaces and connections, and by making that space a safer place, Generation Remix makes the whole world safer for LGBTQ+ people. It's often intimidating to be your true self. It takes a lot of courage and a lot of faith in the people around you. This Pride Month, remind the young people in your life that your support is unconditional. Let them know they can come to you with questions, concerns, or difficult experiences without fear of judgment. Being a trusted adult can make an enormous difference. Having someone to confide in helps protect young people from online harm and gives them a source of guidance when navigating digital spaces. Even small acts of support can have a lasting impact on an LGBTQ+ young person's life.

Getting digital toxicity in check is only the first step of nurturing digital wellbeing. The second step is being intentional about what we are filling that time with. During Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re calling on JOY to fill that space. Mental health and screen addiction can feel like huge and heavy challenges, but we always come back to one important truth. Joy matters. A psychologist who founded positive psychology, Dr. Martin Seligman, founder of positive psychology, identified three distinct approaches to joy for teens: to pursue a pleasant life, a good life, and a meaningful life. A pleasant life is having fun by engaging in hobbies or spending time with friends. A good life is finding “flow” while being completely absorbed into a creative act or an activity like sports. A meaningful life is finding purpose through volunteering or giving back. While the digital world isn't completely void of these pathways, social psychologists like Jonathan Haidt suggest online spaces often fail because they replace embodied, face-to-face interaction with "disembodied" digital experiences. We can create fully embodied and lasting joy pathways when we build belonging offline. Our Remixers continuously cultivate these three distinctive pathways to happiness by: 1. Finding Pleasant: Kayaking during our Summer Innovation Lab or integrating games in our workshops 2. Finding Good: Building a sense of community, forming lasting memories while working on projects or presenting  3. Finding Meaningful: Being part of a youth-led movement and giving back through teen-led workshops so kids and families leave feeling lighter and better than when they walked in Joy is one of our key allies in taking on the unique challenges of the digital age. Our commitment to joy has taken on a team motto to “lock in and have fun,” coined by our team of youth leaders during our 2025 summer innovation lab. This motto captures the essence of how we want to approach this work. To emphasize our commitment to solving this big challenge of how the digital world can impact mental health and our commitment to doing so by maximizing the JOY that comes from real-life connections, friendships, and a shared sense of purpose.    Remixers in the wild having fun, coming soon… 👀

Since many apps aren’t designed to protect our wellbeing, Remixers are saying bye for now and challenging you to do the same. What’s the app that keeps you coming back? You know, the one you think, “I’ll just go on this for a couple minutes” and then an hour later, you’re still scrolling? The one that makes you feel insecure? The one you are browsing while you’re also watching Netflix? Got it? Ok, time to DELETE it! For Mental Health Awareness Month, Generation Remix teen leaders are challenging our community to create space for joy by taking a break from our most addictive apps.  Our Remixers have so many stories about how deleting that one thing that keeps them hooked has made a positive impact on their lives. After deleting Snapchat at the beginning of this school year, Alex said he cares less about what people think of him, has more energy, makes meaningful social connections in school, and feels a lot more present in the moment for mental clarity. Nick removed all social media, browsers, and games, keeping only productivity apps like Gmail, Google Calendar, AI, Uber and Headspace. He shared that it's had a tremendous effect on his mental and physical health because he is now “living in the moment without being distracted every 10 seconds”. Charli and Jack both deleted TikTok, ditching their “random and mindless scrolling” for better focus and guitar playing. But the reality is, it’s hard to leave these digital spaces and teens shouldn’t have to delete apps to protect their mental health. Our Remixer leaders don't want to disappear from the digital world; they want to be in a world that doesn't prey on their attention for profit. They want agency, not traps. What if digital wellbeing wasn’t a hidden setting but a design standard? Here is the Remix wishlist for a better platform agency: No Algorithm: Default to user control, not algorithm-fed content  No Infinite Scroll: Kill the infinite scroll or let users turn it off or set a limit  No FYP: Friends content only defaults for all platforms  No Streaking: No more pressured, timely daily streaks drawing users back Nudge Exits: Features that interrupt doomscrolling and encourage a break  Limit Notifications: No more constant notifications on posts, comments, likes, & reposts #digitalwellbeing #screentime #mentalhealth #generationremix #teens #mentalhealthawarenessmonth 

This video produced by students at Petaluma High School Trojan Broadcast team captures the essence of the youth-designed "POV Remix" workshop! 💡 Youth sharing valuable insight from growing up digital 🤝 Guiding conversations about digital wellbeing across generational divides 🩵 Building understanding and empathy Thank you to our partners Healthy Petaluma District & Foundation Keller Street CoWork and PHS PTSA! And special thanks to PHS Trojan Broadcast for being there to document and share the magic! https://lnkd.in/gZ84KwtU