Social Media Driver's License with Jennifer Berger • ep. 15

I am so excited to welcome our special guest today: Jennifer Berger from Ready Set Screen! Jennifer developed a program called Social Media Driver’s License to help tweens/teens/parents “prepare for the digital road ahead.” We discussed how she grew a passion for media literacy education, how she developed Social Media Driver’s License, and how you have control over your own online life.

Meet Jennifer Berger

JENNIFER: Thank you so much for having me, Stephanie. So excited.

Now, before we get into our conversation, could you tell us a little bit about who you are, what you do, and what you're known for?

JENNIFER: My name is Jennifer Berger. I'm the executive director of a nonprofit organization called Ready Set Screen. I'm known for teaching teen girls and teens and tweens media literacy skills that help them resist some of the negative messages we can get from media, and also really enjoy being on social media especially. Safe, smart, and happy online is the way to go, and that really is my life's work.

The way I got into this was that in college, I watched an amazing film about the representation of women in media, and it really opened my eyes. And so from there on out, I was volunteering for an organization, ran the organization, taught almost 10,000 teen and tween girls how to question their media environment and enjoy it.

That's amazing, and that's right up my alley. You girls know I'm big on media literacy. I don't care, I'm a media literacy nerd. And so you have a new program, it's called Social Media Driver's License. Can you share the backstory of why you created it, and then how you developed it?

JENNIFER: I was starting to get a little bit restless about how many kids, teens, tweens, specifically girls, I was able to reach. I started floating this idea, like what if there were training for getting on smartphones and social media? What if there was just like a little basic training, something that would help prepare teens, tweens, and their parents for having a phone, for even just using social media on your laptop, for all of those things, and I just came up with the Social Media Driver's License. It's just a perfect metaphor. Launched into producing 27 videos with some older teens, and just, you know, did it!

Mm-hmm. Just went for it!

JENNIFER: Oh, I also got some curriculum developers, really smart educational consultants, psychotherapists, so on and so forth, to advise me. I didn't just do it, but I like to make it sound like that.

No, but you had this idea, and you're like, "You know what? I don't see it happening, so I'm gonna do it."

JENNIFER: I will also say, I had funding already from my previous nonprofit, and I talked to all of my funders and said, "Is it okay if I use this money to do this other thing?" So I don't wanna act like you just go do it and you don't have to have money or resources to do it. I had some money and some resources to do it.

No, that's fair, but the fact is that there were funders who thought that was a great idea. There are grants out there. There are people with money. I mean, you girls have probably seen like Shark Tank type of things. If you've got an idea, might as well throw it out there and see if it sticks. Because other people may also want to be part of that.

Social Media Concerns

So the social media landscape, it keeps shifting. You've got lawsuits in the US. There's regulations I've seen happening in other countries. What are your top concerns with social media right now?

JENNIFER: My top concerns about the social media landscape, specifically, are that all of these changes that lawmakers and parents and some of the social media companies want to make are gonna take a very long time to implement–like five to 10 years, and what's gonna change in that time? Nothing.

The other thing is that a lot of it's just not realistic. So it's not practical to assume that we have no age verification online, but only 16 year olds and up can use it, like that sort of thing.

As far as content and social media, as far as the way social media companies work right now, my main concern is that they really don't care about your mental health, and they really don't- want to change their product so that you can be healthier and happier. They want their money, and they want to return money to their shareholders. It's just very important to keep in mind what their motivations, what these platforms' motivations really are. Rven though they're super fun and they're so entertaining and it's so great, but also they're a business. They're a business back there, and they're trying to take care of number one–themselves.

More Than Age Matters

Some folks say that kids should wait until a certain age to use social media. There's even states and countries saying, "All right, no kids under this age." But why do you think it's important for youth, and girls in particular, to also have social media training?

JENNIFER: There's much more to it than your age. It's emotional maturity, and it's being ready to handle what you find online. While it would be great to actually have kids not have social media and smartphones till they're 16, even 18 years old, the inevitable will occur. Like they will, we will, get online. You know, that is going to happen, so training needs to happen as well.

And for girls in particular, I think there are so many holes to fall into in a really bad way. I know that all of the studies show that girls are more affected mental health-wise and like emotionally, when they use and overuse social media than boys and kids of other genders. So it's really a big push for girls to have social media training. And here's what they really need to be learning about–how influencers have their jobs, how social media works to keep you scrolling, how social comparison can really bite you bad, and how you get help when you need to.

The most important thing really is being able to stay strong in the face of it, which a lot of the time comes from creating your own digital wellness habits, not waiting for parents to tell you what the rules are, but staying strong in your own promises to yourself.

Social Media Driver's License

And some of the things you just mentioned, I've been able to preview Social Media Driver's License. I noticed it goes deep into things. It makes kids think. It makes kids respond. So what information does Social Media Driver's License cover?

JENNIFER: It covers knowledge, like how all of this works behind the scenes, even mentioning and talking about AI chatbots, the big talk right now. Everything is about AI. So influencers, how it keeps you scrolling, why it keeps you scrolling (which by the way is advertising purposes).

And then feelings–so social comparison, what to do if you're feeling really isolated or really bad about yourself, in the form of not just like going and getting a therapist, but some of the other resources available, like calling 9-8-8 other helpful resources.

And then skills. So developing your own social media digital wellness habits and your own habits around: when am I gonna look at my phone? When am I not gonna look at my phone? Where am I gonna keep my phone? But making those decisions for yourself.

Life Skills, Parents too

And I think that the name of it, Social Media Driver's License, I feel like it's very aptly named because, like I got my driver's license when I was 16 years old. And I am still using the skills that I learned. These types of technology are probably not gonna go anywhere anytime soon. So once you're out of your tween and teen years, you will still be using these skills. These are literal life skills. Parents, if you're listening, this is good to go over with your kids. This is not a “hand it to your kid and be like, ‘Okay, you do it, and now my work is done.’" This is also really great information for parents to know for our own use, but also to know what your child is learning and to then spark conversations.

JENNIFER: You know, parents can look through the kids program and jump around and look at everything that their kids and teens are seeing. But there's also this audio course that talks parent talk that really plugs into what the kids are learning. There's a trusted adults guide that has conversation starters and lots of other information about what their kids are learning and some ways to start conversations.

I will say, this goes both ways. We also have a section in the kid and teen part of the course that's about talking to your parents, how to talk to your parents, who are your trusted adults even if those aren't your parents, and how important that is to have those conversations, even when they're really awkward, and build trust between you.

You Have Control

It could be any topic, but what's the most important thing you want girls listening to know?

JENNIFER: I want the girls listening to know that you have control over your own online life. You have control over what notifications you get. You have control over who's in your feeds. You can unfollow anyone anytime. You don't have to answer people's chats just because they chatted you. Those weird DMs you get, just ignore. But you have control is really what I wanna say. You have a lot of power over what goes on on your phone, in your social media feeds, on your YouTube algorithm, you know, all of that. So just be keeping that in mind, that this is not just something that is happening to you. This is something that you are able to have a real impact on for yourself.

Connect with Jennifer

So well put. Thank you for sharing that. Now, before we wrap up, I'm so excited for Social Media Driver's License. I imagine others are very interested in checking it out. So where can they find more information, and also connect with you online?

JENNIFER: The place to go is SocialMediaDriversLicense.org. I wanna just spell license, because it's a tricky word to spell. Yeah. It's L-I-C-E-N-S-E. Our organization is called ReadySetScreen.org, and you can find us as @readysetscreen on Instagram, TikTok.

I also just wanna say really quickly that we are running a study of the impact of our program right now, and this is happening through about April 30th, 2027. Depending on when you're listening, you should know where if you and possibly your parent complete the Social Media Driver's License program, we will give you a gift card. Get in touch, go to our website and do Contact Us, or DM us on Instagram or wherever you already are, and we will connect you with all that information.

Very cool. Well this has been such a pleasure to talk with you, Jennifer. Thank you so much for telling us all about your organization, about your program, and for being here in the corner for empowering girls and helping them just have a better experience.

JENNIFER: Yeah. Thank you so much for having me. So appreciate it, Stephanie.

Resources

If you have a topic suggestion, I’d love to hear from you! Send an email (tweens get the OK from your parents) to [email protected] .

If you have social media already, follow me on Insta, TikTok, or YouTube @empowerfulgirls. I’m not encouraging or endorsing social media, but I’m on there to offer an unfiltered, uplifting alternative to what’s in your feed. Remember to get on the email list for the newsletter!

Also, if you enjoy listening to 10 for Teens + Tweens, I would truly appreciate you telling your friends about this podcast or leaving a review so others can find it and feel uplifted, too! Your support means the world to me!