Inspirational teenager who created an anti-bullying app

when she was THIRTEEN says she is 'heartbroken' that

online trolls are driving youngsters to suicide
A game-changing app, which forces teenagers to rethink offensive remarks before
posting them online, has been manufactured to stamp out the problem of online trolls.

The sophisticated software, known as reThink, is the brain child of tech whiz, Trisha
Prabhu, 15, from Illinois, who was only 13 when she devised the technology.

The premise behind it is simple: teenagers are impulsive and would be less likely to post
offensive messages if they paused before posting anything, which is exactly what
ReThink enables them to do.

The software scans messages or posts for offensive content and creates a warning
prompt such as 'Is this message worthy of you?
Trisha ran 1,500 scientific trials and found that when adolescents received a ReThink
prompt, they changed their minds 93 per cent of the time.

Speaking to FEMAIL, Trisha, who was a finalist at Google's Science Fair, which
recognises the world's brightest young minds, explained: 'In the spur of the moment or
under peer pressure, many kids post offensive messages online without realising the
extent of the damage they are causing.

'But, as my research shows, if they are provided a chance to pause, review and ReThink
their decision to post this message, kids change their minds and decide to not post a
hurtful message.

'ReThink is a simple, innovative, transformational solution that changes bulIies' behaviour

and helps develop sound decision-making skills on and off internet.'

A study last year by UK anti-bullying charity Ditch the Label found seven in ten young
people are victims of cyber bullying and 37 per cent of them are experiencing it on a
highly frequent basis.

Trisha decided to tackle the issue in 2013 after learning about an 11-year-old girl from
Florida who committed suicide after being repeatedly bullied online.

'I was shocked, heartbroken and angry,' Trisha said. 'How could a girl younger than me
be pushed to take her own life?

'I started thinking about what I could do to stop this from ever happening again. I have
always been fascinated by the inner workings of the brain.

'When I read that news story about cyber bullying suicide, I wondered what caused
adolescents to actually post mean and hurtful messages?'

Trisha embarked on a science project for school to analyse whether age affects
willingness to post hurtful messages. Results from the project found adolescents were 50
per cent more willing than adults to do so.

'The results didn't surprise me,' said Trisha.

Devoted to the cause, Trisha then performed an extensive study of the adolescent brain
and how it develops over the years. And something in particular caught her attention.
'There is one single part of the brain that alone takes close to 25 years to fully develop
and that is responsible for decision making skills.

'Don’t we have a problem here? Could this be why adolescents make rash, impulsive
decisions? Could this be why they are more willing to post hurtful messages on the
internet?

'Overcome by the passion to stop my fellow adolescents cyber bullying others, I carried
out this project to find a solution to stop these hurtful messages from being posted.'

And so the the software for ReThink was born, which approaches the issue of cyber
bullying from a totally new direction.

Until ReThink launched, social media sites were trying to stop cyber bullying using what
Trisha calls a 'stop, block and tell' method. The idea is that if teens receive an offensive
message, they stop what you are doing, block the bully and tell an adult.

'While it sounds good on paper, it does not work in reality,' explained Trisha.

'Research shows that nine out of ten kids do not tell anyone. They suffer in silence.
Cyberbullying is a silent pandemic.

'Research has found that 52 per cent of adolescents online in the US alone have been
cyber bullied. A quarter of the world’s population is adolescents - we’re talking 1.8 billion
teens.

'The majority of us are on social media – and the number of adolescents around the
world being cyber bullied continues to grow.

'It’s an electronic and insidious form of verbal abuse and just like real-life bullying; victims
experience depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, increased drop-out rates and suicidal
tendencies.

'Recent research, conducted in UK, indicates that the harmful effect of cyber bullying
lasts well into a person’s 50s and 60s.

'As the technological revolution continues to unfold, the more kids get online and the
scourge of cyber bullying continues to grow.'

Trisha admits she has experienced bullying first-hand but says she would let the taunts
wash over her.

'I had been cyber bullied regarding my wardrobe choices when I was young, but I
considered myself a strong girl,' she said.

'I never let any of those bother me. When I read about this cyber bullying suicide, I
realised that there must be many young kids that are suffering from cyber bullying.

'My research showed that over 52 per cent of the adolescents online in the US have
been a victim of cyber bullying or have witnessed it happen. I started thinking about what
I could do to stop this from ever happening again.'

'We are in the midst of social media revolution. Kids as young as age seven or eight are
getting on social media. Technology and the internet gives kids great power.'

'But with that power comes great responsibility that the kids are not ready for yet,' she
said.
Beyond it's guise as an app, which is free to download for android and Apple devices,
Trisha sees ReThink as a movement and has already been invited to spread her
message at international platforms - including the White House and TEDxTeen in London
as well as conferences in Mumbai, Mexico and elsewhere in America.

'My goal is to raise awareness about the ReThink mind-set amongst my peers around the
world,' she said.

Trisha has also launched a ReThink ambassador programme, which encourages schools
and communities to nominate two students on the website www.rethinkwords.com to
become ambassadors for the anti-bullying concept.

As well as being awarded the Google Science Fair Global Finalist award, she has also
received the International Diana award for anti-bullying and the Daily Points of Light
award from the George W Bush foundation.

'All of those awards and accolades would mean so much more if I am able to get
ReThink in the hands of millions of kids at no cost to them,' she said.

'My plan is to get ReThink out in the hands of every adolescent at no cost to them. I am
working to build ReThink in various international languages for mobile and desktop
computers around the world.'

Short version

Trisha Prabhu, at just 15, created the revolutionary app ReThink to combat online
bullying. The app prompts teenagers to reconsider hurtful messages before posting
them online, deterring impulsive behavior. Trisha's extensive research found that when
adolescents received a ReThink prompt, they changed their minds 93% of the time.
Motivated by a tragic cyberbullying-related suicide, she identified the lack of developed
decision-making skills in adolescents and created ReThink as a solution.

Traditional methods of tackling cyberbullying focused on stopping, blocking, and telling

adults, but Trisha found this ineffective. She recognized the silent suffering of victims
and the lasting impact of cyberbullying on mental health. ReThink takes a proactive
approach by prompting reflection before posting, aiming to prevent hurtful messages
from being sent in the first place.

Trisha's dedication to this cause led her to launch the ReThink ambassador program
and spread awareness globally. Her goal is to provide ReThink to millions of
adolescents worldwide for free, aiming to revolutionize online behavior and combat
cyberbullying.