Young people’s social-emotional learning (SEL) is critical to their success in school-based settings and to their overall mental health and thriving. Considering that the current state of youth wellbeing has been labeled a crisis characterized by loneliness and self-harm, there is an urgent need to address and improve children’s, teens’, and young adults’ mental health. SEL stands as an evidence-based strategy that provides youth with the competencies and skills needed to flourish in school, career, and life.

However, constraints in schools make it difficult to scale SEL programming in meaningful and impactful ways. Limited time, scarce resources, curricular demands, and necessary teacher training have all been obstacle to implementing SEL at scale in school-based settings. Considering these limitations, opportunities outside of school need to be considered. Given that young people spend an average of eight hours daily using screens for communication and entertainment, and that over two-thirds of teens report using social media, these media may provide a ready and available avenue to further support their mental, social, and emotional wellbeing.