Through conversations using visual diaries, video and audio podcasts, text messages and interviews on Zoom, teens will be able to share on their personal journey, as well as general interests, culture and hobbies. On the topic of obesity, they will have access to fact-checked resources, academic reports explained in short videos, and once a month, a pool of therapists who will offer pro bono time to answer their questions, in a collective 90-minute Zoom session.
Be it a desktop or a mobile experience, the platform will have playful look and feel; the user experience will be fun. Content will be easy to access in a single space using compelling story forms, intuitive navigation and an uplifting tone of voice.
This is the right time:
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Health is a viable investment.
According to investment consultancy angel.co, mental health is an sector that grew 34% in 2019, a figure that will surely be higher in 2022 after the documented struggles of young people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The obese population, a vulnerable group, needs a safe space where it can discuss its specific needs.
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The Internet is shifting gears.
Mass social media have succeeded in connecting people, but most have failed to even try to understand how to present curated, non-bias information, nuanced and moderated. This failure is giving
rise to niche and vertical social networks that will replace current platforms “to cater content to a certain category of users, interested in sharing content over shared interests.”
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Awareness is needed now.
The need to address obesity and body shape has been ignored, but it is consequential. We can look the other way for another decade or take it upon ourselves to support the physical, mental and emotional health of overweight teenagers with innovative thinking and talent, and with experiences that bond them together.
The Big O project is a call to concerned stakeholders in the field of health, technology and academia to join forces and help us meet and engage with mindful investors. With a board of experts in mental health, creative technologists and fund representatives, we can build a truthful coalition taking action to support kids living with obesity without patronising them.
How will it work?
– Prior to development, a research survey will investigate existing social media, particularly those targeting adolescents and young adults, to collect evidence of and learn from the best and worst practices in intention, UX, design, content and user engagement. We will look at each benchmark and decrypt what made it a success.
– We will build ethical safeguards into the platform’s DNA. Parental authorisation will be requested at registration. Teens will be left free from parental supervision once authorised to enter and be given agency to share with other teens. Trust, fairness, creativity and fun will be the four pillars of the concept. Teens will share collectively and when they want to, in private. Guests taking part or doing research on the platform, will sign a code of conduct prior to be granted access.
– A content checklist will cover topics ranging from teens’ everyday life, social and corporate responsibilities, look closely at food at school in different countries, and talk about body images and cultural representation. Themes monitored with experts will include body shape and bullying, body weight and depression, food-industry lobbying, fat versus carbohydrate, and new knowledge from the COVID era.
– With funding mechanisms correctly scaled and operating in relay between national funds, individual philanthropists, corporate funds and learning support from academia, we can build a sustainable core editorial team, bring on board a first circle of experts, and mentor our Teen Ambassadors whose first mission will be to collect stories.
In conclusion
We have watched a decade of social media steamroll ethical principles and good manners, as unmoderated content has unleashed bias, lies and bullying. It is time to harness the connectivity of social media for good, to use AI to build fairness, and bring together people with shared passions, knowledge and concern.
The Big O aims to do all this – and give teens agency with facts and ethical safeguards. It will empower them to own their stories, helping them build resilience about their body shape through active and interactive content, guided by experts.
The O in The Big O is both obesity and a circle. A circle that is a warm welcome, a protective space within which we can raise awareness, deploy fairness in principles, and actively encourage a diversity of voices, ethnicities and body shapes.
Join us at The Big O, a collaborative platform built upon togetherness and truth.
