Young and Well CRC, an international research centre that explores the role of technology in young people’s lives, has launched an app to promote positive communication amongst young people using social media.
The Appreciate a Mate iPhone app, created by Digital Arts Network Sydney in partnership with digital strategy agency Zuni, is the second phase of the Safe and Well Online project campaign which launched in July with a website.
It is a partnership research study between Zuni, University of South Australia, University of Western Sydney and Queensland University of Technology which aims to understand the impact and effectiveness of social marketing on the promotion of young people’s safety and wellbeing.
The app, which launches today to coincide with National Compliments Day, allows users to generate customisable messages of appreciate and pass them on via Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and SMS, with messages developed in conjunction with young Australians aged 13-17 via a series of workshops with over 50 quotes users can choose from.
Zuni’s Strategic Planner Bernadine Brewer said in a statement: “What we love about this idea is that it works with young people’s current online habits and makes positive communication easy and fun.
“From research, we know that the building blocks of self-esteem and positive self-image are feeling accepted and valued by peers. Appreciate a Mate builds on that by providing young people with a tool that works for them and how they prefer to communicate. We have an opportunity to really influence a change in online behaviour and spread some positivity around the web.”
The app is available to download for free from the App Store while android and desktop users can access the campaign on www.appreciateamate.com.
