Teen Makes Sit With Us App

I'm always saying that if the "cool kids" were more vocal about sticking up for victims of bullying, other kids would follow their lead.  In fact, a recent article details a study out of Princeton says:

...over 50 New Jersey middle schools provided their most socially competent students with social media tools and encouragement to combat bullying, and saw a reduction in student conflict reports by 30 percent.

16-year-old Natalie Hampton is the taking the anti-bullying idea one step further. She created an app called "Sit With Us". Fellow students who are bullied and left to sit alone during lunch can find people to sit with. The "cool kids" sign up to be ambassadors, and the lonely students confidentially identify bully-free places to eat. I SO love this idea.

With social media making bullying more aggressive and more devastating, and teen suicide at an all-time high as a result, it's wonderful to know that someone discovered a way to make that same social media a tool to fight back. Well done, Natalie!