Um&Uh (Amanda)
In partnership with Floreo Labs, I recently designed a community-powered intervention based on four years of research at NYU with Dr. Niobe Way, and in response to my independent study at RCS.
Um&Uh (Amanda) was created to improve the internalized lack of self-confidence, self-respect, and self-validation that affects millennial and Gen Z women today, all around the world. Using technology, we can make people more aware of what they are thinking and saying in relationship to one another.
Through short situational conversation prompts and activities, our platform gives women a safe space to practice uncomfortable conversation in order to gain clarity in their thoughts and communication. Our goal with this application is to create a simple and repeatable way to raise women’s self-esteem while speaking to reassure them of their own abilities and gifts.
To learn more about Amanda, visit us at https://www.umanduh.io/
Words Have Magical Power: An Adolescent Self-Esteem Project
I have spent the last four years analyzing teenage discourse through different lenses and over this time have come to perceive the importance of recognizing the impact of words on adolescent self-esteem. In the Science of Human Connection Lab at NYU, I scanned hundreds of pages for hesitant language phrases, as part of a longitudinal study. This experience inspired me to design an independent study at RCS where I learned that self-verification theory, the idea that a person chooses to be around others that see her as she sees herself, holds true In some cases. I came to realize that people, especially teenagers, long to hear positive things about themselves.
This PSA was created as an interpretive response to my data-based research, and as a prequel to my community-powered intervention Um&Uh (Amanda). The video features adolescents reflecting on their self image, and then comparing that to the way their peers see them.
My overarching goal throughout my work is to make teenagers aware of their self-perceptions, so that millennial and Gen-Z girls can express themselves more confidently and attain healthy and fulfilling lives.
Click here to watch the video.