R U Listening? 17-Year-Old Entrepreneur Gives Kids Access to Counseling via Text Messages

Interview with Digital Daughter Ambassador Jamie Spelling

When Jamie was 14, she started a Tumblr blog to generate some laughs.  It quickly became evident, however, that along with the giggles, her adolescent followers were using her Tumblr account to voice their concerns and to get advice on common teen problems.  Jamie’s following grew and grew, and now, three years later, she has over 60,000 followers – many of them tweens and teens desperate to be heard, and potentially in need of counseling. 

Something had to be done.  But, how could she, a teenager herself, help?  How could she make teen counseling as accessible as possible?

For this generation of "screenagers," a line no longer exists between the real world and the cyber world. A 2012 Pew Internet & American Life study found that texting is the dominant form of communication for teens. And, in a recent CNN special report, “#Being13: Inside the Secret World of Teens,” CNN reported that many teens use social media to cry for help when they are sad, angry and confused. 

With her inbox filled with 20,000 messages, Jamie, a bright, charismatic and empathetic teen – and one of my amazing Digital Daughter Ambassadors – has been experiencing this new and troubling phenomenon firsthand.  She decided to do something about. 

Behind the Screen: Digital Daughter, Teen Mentor and Superstar Lauren Galley

Lauren Galley, DDA, Teen Mentor and Founder of Girls Above Society

Like most girls today who are growing up tethered to their tech - connecting and socializing via the screen - many of my Digital Daughter Ambassadors (DDAs) have been profoundly influenced by experiences with cyber bullying, sexting, text dating, FOMO and the like.  I'm honored to introduce you to my DDA Lauren, who has not only risen above and beyond her own middle school tech nightmare, but is doing something about it in a really big and meaningful way…

Meet Lauren Galley, teen mentor and founder of Girls AboveSociety, her non-profit born out of her own personal angst-ridden experience and a desire to help girls everywhere cope and thrive in our digital world.  

Back in January, Lauren and I met on Twitter (of course!) and I continue to be blown away by her dizzying schedule, pure dedication and unending list of accomplishments. At age 20, she has just finished her sophomore year at SHSU and is pursuing a Masters in Psychology. Lauren is a TEDx Speaker, Huffington Post Contributor, Official Ambassador for Secret Deodorant’s Mean Stinks Campaign, and just wrote a book, “Kissing Frogs:In Search of Prince Charming.” Most recently, she is working on a course in cyber citizenship for the Texas Education Agency,

I asked Lauren about social media, social anxiety, the importance of speaking articulately and with confidence, and her generation’s future.  Here's what she had to say...