The most uncertain time in a person’s life is their teenage years. Along with physical changes, a person has to deal with a change in social dynamics, mental health problems, and finding a sense of identity in the larger and grander scheme of things. Helping teenagers is not an easy task. With everything feeling so uncertain, it seems difficult for individuals to grow and flourish. What helps in this uncertain time is a place to turn to and an ability to find what it is that you need. While the internet seems like a vast playing field of information, it is not the safest place to seek help and advice. And that’s where DC's project TeenBook comes into play.

TeenBook was started in 2020, by co-founders, Arti Shukla and Vithika Yadav. The aim of TeenBook was to provide India’s first comprehensive bilingual life skills programme for adolescents with the goal of developing knowledge, building skills and behaviours that would enable adolescents and teenagers to make informed decisions and responsible choices as they progress in their journey towards adulthood.

What made TeenBook special was that the content they put out was not only informative but also fun. Managing to capture the attention of teenagers and parents alike. TeenBook understood that when it comes to providing resources to students, the need for these resources to be lighthearted and fun was key to their success and in doing so they managed to amass a huge following across their social media platforms. Today, TeenBook has amassed over 14.8k followers on Instagram alone

The TeenBook website that has been running since their inception , uses several formats such as curiosity columns, advice columns, stories, personal accounts and blogs on current events to share knowledge on issues relevant to teenagers. The websites in Hindi and English are our resource hubs, with the most comprehensive information on life skills and adolescence education. The TeenBook Hindi website is one of the biggest resources in Hindi available on these subjects.

Another standout feature of TeenBook was that it was able to create content that could grow with the teenagers who view their content. Their vast array of topics and resources never feel stale because they cover the various complexities of teenage life allowing them to truly understand their audience much better.

TeenBook also stood out because of its ability to be inclusive. Looking at topics that would otherwise be shunned by society at large such as sexuality, gender, menstruation, and much more. Allowing many individuals to feel included and have a better place to express themselves and find comfort.

As mentioned earlier, growing up and being a teenager is not easy. What seems like minor problems to all of us seems like the difference between life and death for a teenager. To be able to navigate these uncertain waters is very important. To be able to create a platform that helps teenagers is to be able to understand that by helping them you are helping the next generation of individuals to live better lives. At DC, we look forward to driving the change that matters and what better way to start that journey than with the youth of today.