The advent of social media brought with it many benefits, but there’s no doubt it also signalled an increase in the number of avenues open to individuals in which to disparage or deride fellow members of the public.
Concerned by the increasing prevalence of online trolling, a teenage girl from Illinois set about developing an app which may help to prevent the level of negative discourse we witness across social media forums on a daily basis.
15-year-old Trisha Prabhu developed ReThink in an effort to curb teens’ negative contribution to innumerable online arenas, and it looks like it may be working!
The teenager’s app contains specific software which scans potential posts for offensive content before prompting the user as to the implications of sharing their message.
Having conducted 1,500 trials, Trisha can boast an incredibly high success rate, with statistics showing that a whopping 93% of teens decided against posting certain content on account of the app’s intervention.
Commenting on her contribution to the world of technology, Trisha told the Mail Online that she was motivated by the all too prevalent repercussions of cyber bullying.
“In the spur of the moment or under peer pressure, many kids post offensive messages online without realising the extent of the damage they are causing,” she explains.
Acknowledging that youngsters often act before considering the implications, Trisha asserted that sometimes a little reminder was all they needed to do the right thing.
“As my research shows, if they are provided a chance to pause, review and ReThink their decision to post this message, kids change their minds and decide to not post a hurtful message,” she confirmed.
With 52% of American youngsters having fallen victim to online bullying, it certainly sounds like ReThink is an invaluable contribution to the world of apps and gaming.
