The recent cases against Meta and Google are exposing something many families have felt for years: the media and technology systems shaping young people’s lives are not just harmful, they are engineered to be addictive.

While it is important that the companies behind these systems are beginning to be held accountable, the deeper solution will not come from a top down approach alone. Like any addiction, real transformation has to come from within.

That is why, this summer, Take Two Media Initiative will bring together a new cohort of 25 high school students from across New York City to become paid Media Ambassadors. Through our Media Lab, these students will be trained in media literacy, digital well being, and leadership so they can better understand the systems influencing their lives and begin reclaiming agency from them.

At the same time, we will train these students in filmmaking so they can help document their own transformation as they learn, reflect, and grow into leaders.

Your support for this GoFundMe will help fund the Media Lab, produce the short documentary, and bring our new book, The Take Back, and this movement to a wider audience.

Please donate to help us train young leaders, tell their story, and grow a movement that helps communities reclaim agency from Big Media and Tech.