Teens, Social Media & You

Client: Media Smart and TikTok

In an era where teenagers' lives are inextricably digital, a widening generational gap has left parents and carers feeling disempowered. While 70% of them are aware of online safety tools, only 22% actually use them. Media Smart and TikTok worked with agency Livity to launch Teens, Social Media & You - a cross-European campaign designed to bridge this divide through radical authenticity. It builds on previous collaborations to improve young people’s digital literacy, including SEND initiatives backed by DCMS funding.

Moving away from traditional stale and ‘lecturing’ safety content, the narrative was flipped, positioning teenagers as the ‘educators’, guiding their parents through the complexities of life online. By utilising platform-native content trends such as ‘Get Ready With Me’ and ‘Walk and Talk’ with real life teens and trusted adults, dry safety advice was transformed into engaging, intergenerational dialogue to drive meaningful change in the digital literacy of parents empowering them to talk to their teens and start keeping them safer online. Rooted in deep research and co-creation, the digital campaign reached 70m+ views on TikTok, hit over 500k through OOH and cinema advertising and has since scaled into physical, IRL workshops for marginalised communities with low levels of digital exclusion. The project isn't just a campaign; it’s a long-term commitment to educating parents and carers through resources and practical advice to "navigate better together". By fostering openness with their teens and encouraging productive conversations, it proves that authenticity in digital safety can help shift from tensional control to collaboration.