Technology

Telemedicine: How advances in technology have improved healthcare

Telemedicine:  How advances in technology have improved healthcare

Over the years, the healthcare field has undergone many changes and a large number of these changes can be attributed to technology.  From doctors and nurses taking handwritten notes to now carrying iPads and tablets from room to room, the cyber age has infiltrated all areas of […]

Read more

they2ze Goes to SF Pride and the 2018 Transgender March

San Francisco’s Trans March took place on June 22, 2018 in Dolores Park. YTH was there basking in the glow and handing out palm cards to promote our they2ze app. We spoke with many people about HIV prevention, health resources, the fun of including everyone, and those […]

Read more

they2ze SoCal Tour

Last week the YTH Team had the opportunity to present our they2ze mobile app at the Southern California Sexual Health Summit in Downtown Los Angeles. Along the way, Programs Director Cara Silva and I seized the opportunity to visit and connect with some truly amazing folks. The […]

Read more

Why Teens Don’t Report Cyberbullying

Why Teens Don’t Report Cyberbullying

This is a guest post by Pamela M. Anderson, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate at ETR “When young people are cyberbullied, why don’t they reach out to trusted adults for help?” This is a question a lot of youth health providers are asking. Think about it: here we […]

Read more

Transgender Spectrum Youth Health: they2ze Mobile App

Transgender Spectrum Youth Health: they2ze Mobile App

YTH is working with funding from the National Library of Medicine [NLM] to focus on reducing HIV among transgender-spectrum youth and enhancing overall transgender-spectrum youth health during the 2016-2017 AIDS Community Information Outreach Program [ACIOP]. In collaboration with the community, YTH is focusing on the HIV/AIDS epidemic […]

Read more

Tackling Cyberbullying through Research and Mobile Innovation

This blog post was originally published to Vodafone Americas Foundation’s website, as a collaborative effort between our two organizations. Please visit Vodafone’s blog to read the original published post here.  Did you know 42% of youth have experienced cyberbullying, and of this group, 54% became depressed or […]

Read more

From #NoTeenShame to Tech Leadership: An Interview with Natasha Vianna

From #NoTeenShame to Tech Leadership: An Interview with Natasha Vianna

We probably don’t have to tell you that women are marginalized in tech, but in case you’re not aware of how gender plays a role in these outcomes, women only hold 25% jobs in IT, make up just 28% of those who hold a BS degree in […]

Read more

4 Tech Tools for Celebrating Body Acceptance Month

4 Tech Tools for Celebrating Body Acceptance Month

February is Body Acceptance Month, a time to celebrate positive body image and, perhaps, to begin cultivating it. Unfortunately, most people don’t accept their bodies or have a positive relationship with them. Yahoo! Health conducted a study in January as a part of their Body Peace Resolution […]

Read more

4 Apps for #TeenDVMonth that You Need to Know About

4 Apps for #TeenDVMonth that You Need to Know About

Did you know that one in three adolescents in the U.S. is a victim of physical, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner? Or that this rate is far above the rates of other forms of youth violence? February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, […]

Read more

3 Condom Month Videos that Break the Mold

3 Condom Month Videos that Break the Mold

Wondering how to engage youth in conversations about condoms? It doesn’t have to be tricky. Condoms are part of our modern culture, and young people follow the age old trend of being more comfortable about sex than previous generations (don’t even get us started on sexting and […]

Read more

What You Need to Know About Teens and Online Privacy

What You Need to Know About Teens and Online Privacy

Today’s teens have tech-saturated lives. And although smartphones and social media offer young people unique ways to connect and share like never before, threats to online personal safety and privacy are still a risk. Do teens care about online privacy? Yes, but they think about it very differently than […]

Read more

YTHINFO: Educating Youth About HIV Prevention via SMS

YTHINFO: Educating Youth About HIV Prevention via SMS

YTH is pleased to launch YTHINFO, a SMS campaign reaching youth weekly with HIV prevention information and resources tailored to their needs and lifestyles. Eighty-eight percent of young Americans age 13 to 17 have their own cell phone or smart phone or daily access to one, and […]

Read more

Four Online Projects that Rock LGBTQ Pride & Health

Four Online Projects that Rock LGBTQ Pride & Health

It’s June, and YTH is celebrating LGBTQ Pride Month by giving props to four groups that are doing great work online and offline to promote pride and health for LGBTQ youth.   Forty to None Project The Forty to None Project gets that homelessness is a big issue with […]

Read more

No Holds Barred in Tech and Sex Ed

No Holds Barred in Tech and Sex Ed

  I was honored to be one of several experts asked by the New York Times to write about the best way to get sex ed and health information to youth. You can read my opinion about whether smartphone apps and other technology should be used to […]

Read more

Social Media Lounge Returns to YTH Live 2015!

Social Media Lounge Returns to YTH Live 2015!

Improve Your Social Media Skills Interested in using blogs, podcasts, Facebook and Twitter, but not sure where to start? Want to increase your organization’s reach? If you are attending YTH Live, volunteers from YTH’s Youth Advisory Board will be available to answer your social media questions in […]

Read more

New Youth Health Apps Featured at SXSW  

New Youth Health Apps Featured at SXSW  

Austin, Tex. just hosted the ever-popular South by Southwest (SXSW) conference where leaders in entertainment, technology and a wide range of fields convene to share and discuss the world’s freshest ideas. One SXSW competition caught our eye, the Impact Pediatric Health Pitch, in which four finalists showcased […]

Read more

#Hashtag Activism: Tips on How to Leverage Social Media For Social Change

#Hashtag Activism: Tips on How to Leverage Social Media For Social Change

Social media has become the new black when it comes to platforms that are used by young activists to create positive changes in society. Some successful, spontaneous social movements that received attention around the world started on social media. Check out #YesAllWomen, #YouOKSis, and #BlackLivesMatter — do […]

Read more

Creating a Mobile App? 6 Privacy and Ethics Points to Discuss with Your Developer

Creating a Mobile App? 6 Privacy and Ethics Points to Discuss with Your Developer

Is There an App for That? Connecting to the Internet is increasingly happening through apps and less through web browsers today — your bank, your gym, your grocery stores and your kids’ school may all have their own mobile apps for you to quickly and easily connect […]

Read more

New in Tech: CES & YTH Live 2015

New in Tech: CES & YTH Live 2015

In early January 2015, the much-celebrated annual Consumer Electronics Show took place in Las Vegas. The trade show attracts the top consumer technology businesses which showcase their freshest innovations. Big trends in this year’s offerings were the Internet of Things (IoT) – and the potential insecurity of […]

Read more

AIDSinfo Releases HIV Drug App

AIDSinfo Releases HIV Drug App

HIV is a complex disease in how it affects our bodies, and people living with HIV can have complicated medication schedules that include varying doses of different drugs to be taken at different times. Currently there are over 100 HIV-related drugs in existence. Managing HIV with medication can be […]

Read more

YTH: Igniting Impact in 2014 and Beyond

YTH: Igniting Impact in 2014 and Beyond

As we prepare for Thanksgiving, the YTH team is grateful for another amazing year of advancing technology for youth health and wellness. As you know, time flies when you’re having fun. It’s been a busy year for YTH, as we commemorate our 1-year anniversary with our Executive […]

Read more

Spaces for Youth: Why I got rejected (rightfully) on my 20th birthday

Spaces for Youth: Why I got rejected (rightfully) on my 20th birthday

On April 7th, 2014, I turned 20 (eek!). I also tried to register as a member of an online sexuality and sexual health resource for teens and got rejected. They explained why: I’m no longer a teenager. I’m now in that murky area of young adulthood where I’m […]

Read more

10 Reasons Why You Need to Attend YTH Live

10 Reasons Why You Need to Attend YTH Live

I’ve been in attendance at YTH Live for the past two years and I have to say that it’s one of the most interesting, dynamic conferences I’ve ever been to. Not only does it engage you on an academic level (trust me, you’ll learn a lot!), but it […]

Read more

Back to School…and Beyond

Back to School...and Beyond

Over and over in issues of health, particularly sexual health, we run into the problem of education. It’s difficult to convince someone to use a condom or get that rash checked out if they don’t understand the consequences. In part, the issue needs to be addressed in […]

Read more

Girl Zone Challenge!

Girl Zone Challenge!

GirlZone is an online community where teenage girls can be themselves. Members play games and take quizzes to build a unique floral profile. There are articles and advice on crafts, fashion, sex, movies, and so much more. Girl Zone recently came out with a new app, the Girl […]

Read more

Amplify your Voice: Digital Storytelling for Social Change

Amplify your Voice: Digital Storytelling for Social Change

“The anthropologists got it wrong when they named our species Homo sapiens (‘wise man’). In any case it’s an arrogant and bigheaded thing to say, wisdom being one of our least evident features. In reality, we are Pan narrans, the storytelling chimpanzee.” ― Terry Pratchett, The Science of Discworld […]

Read more

Why The SCOTUS Hobby Lobby Decision Matters for Youth

Why The SCOTUS Hobby Lobby Decision Matters for Youth

By Erin McKelle and Gloria Malone You probably have heard about the recent Supreme Court case involving craft retailer Hobby Lobby (Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby),which now allows employers to deny people contraceptive coverage based on their own religious beliefs. Hobby Lobby owners believed that Plan B, Ella, […]

Read more

Textually Active: The Power of Mobile

Textually Active: The Power of Mobile

With Snapchat, WhatsApp, and more, texting almost feels like old news for some youth these days. In a landscape where everyone, from tweens to grandparents are texting, health professionals are just starting to scratch the surface of the many applications of mobile engagement. One of the most exciting developments […]

Read more

Seize the Data, Seize the Day

Seize the Data, Seize the Day

The Social Impact of Big Data, Mapping, and Infographics The term “big data” is almost ubiquitous these days—as well it should be. Every piece of information we enter into every new app we download, every time we visit a website, use a credit card, check into a […]

Read more

Build Your Toolbox: Tech Solutions for HIV/STD Prevention and Treatment

Build Your Toolbox: Tech Solutions for HIV/STD Prevention and Treatment

Youth between the ages of 13 and 24 account for 17% of the US population, but 26% of its new HIV infections each year. 60% of those infected don’t even know it. How can we combat this epidemic? With the rise of computer and mobile phone use, […]

Read more

#YTHHIV: A Conversation about Youth HIV Prevention

#YTHHIV: A Conversation about Youth HIV Prevention

Attention service providers! Community health workers! Educators! Medical professionals! Youth! You are all invited to participate in #YTHHIV, a live tweetchat hosted by YTH (@YTHorg) on Wednesday, June 25 from 10:30 – 11:30am, to discuss the many questions surrounding youth HIV prevention and sexual health. According to the […]

Read more

YTH Youth Advisor Interviews Jackie Emerson of She’s So Boss

YTH Youth Advisor Interviews Jackie Emerson of She's So Boss

 Jacqueline “Jackie” Emerson is by no means a typical nineteen-year-old. Within the span of less than two decades, she has starred in a major Hollywood blockbuster alongside Jennifer Lawrence, started two organizations, and sang in a band! We were so fortunate to have her moderate the opening plenary on Youth […]

Read more

Ever Feel “Out of Your League”?: On Impostor Syndrome and Youth Innovation

Ever Feel "Out of Your League"?: On Impostor Syndrome and Youth Innovation

Here is the opening plenary from YTH Live: This video captures the first panel at YTH Live, featuring six bright minds and young leaders making a difference in health and tech. When I saw it, I was awestruck and mostly speechless. It was absolutely thrilling to learn about my […]

Read more

Preventing Violence with Youth Health Technology

Preventing Violence with Youth Health Technology

What is “violence” and how do we stop it? As a society, we often answer that question with the obvious: war is violent; we try diplomacy and economic sanctions. Football is violent; we give the players helmets and padding. Sexual assault, verbal assault, harassment, intimate partner violence, […]

Read more

Youth-Driven Innovations in Health

Youth-Driven Innovations in Health

“Self-centered.” “Short-sighted.” “Can’t concentrate.” These words and more have been used to describe the latest group of adolescents, which many have taken to calling “the Selfie Generation.” It’s true that those of us who have grown up with cellphones and social networks have developed certain habits: we […]

Read more

You Can Do It! How YTH Live’s Social Media Lounge Helped Me Own My Expertise

You Can Do It! How YTH Live's Social Media Lounge Helped Me Own My Expertise

Are you a millennial?  Have you ever interviewed for a position where potential employers expected you to have an inherent ability for all things social media (but you’ve never blogged before or you’ve only used Twitter for keeping up with friends and celebrities)? I feel you. As a […]

Read more

New Campaign Draws Attention to Microaggressions

New Campaign Draws Attention to Microaggressions

Microaggressions: small, common acts of aggression that can be verbal, behavioral, or environmental, often committed without the aggressor being aware. They happen to everyone on a daily basis, especially LGBTQ communities, women, and people of color. They are acts that do not need to be tolerated or accepted by […]

Read more

YTH Youth Advisor Interviews Alex Medina of Answer

YTH Youth Advisor Interviews Alex Medina of Answer

If there is one person in the world who is the most passionate about working with youth, it is Alex Medina. Alex is currently the Coordinator of Web Content and Social Networking at Answer. Answer is an award-winning, national organization that provides invaluable sexuality education resources to […]

Read more

Reflections on YTH Live 2014

Reflections on YTH Live 2014

This year, we convened our best YTH Live ever with our community’s support. We brought together over 400 of the brightest minds in youth tech health, welcomed 50 diverse and groundbreaking speakers, and showcased the latest youth health tech solutions with 15 sponsors and exhibitors. We’re grateful […]

Read more

Texting That Can Save Lives (Monday afternoon plenary liveblog, YTH live 2014)

*Nancy Lublin: Texting that Can Save Lives* Monday April 7th Plenary: 1:30-2:15pm Mapping Big Data, Infographics and other Good Stuff* Data, data, data. How do we cut through the clutter? With visuals, of course. Whether using geolocation data to map trends and epidemics, or using research data in […]

Read more

Monday morning plenary: The Doctor is In … Your Bizness

Monday, April 7th 10:00-10:05am *Wellet: A Wellness Program for Universities and their Students* Betsy Eble, Wellet – @wearewellet Passion inspires all of us – and you guys are really passionate, so I’m super excited to be here. You are using honesty & empathy to change the world […]

Read more

Media Advisory: Youth Innovation in Health Tech at YTHLive

Media Advisory: Youth Innovation in Health Tech at YTHLive

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Deb Levine [email protected] | (415)215-6184 April 3, 2014 MEDIA ADVISORY April 6-8th at the Hotel Kabuki, San Francisco Sunday, April 6th marks the start of YTH Live in San Francisco. The opening plenary, sponsored by Kaiser Permanente, features the voices of dynamic young […]

Read more

YTH Youth Advisor Interviews Hollaback’s Emily May

YTH Youth Advisor Interviews Hollaback's Emily May

Street harassment is a pervasive problem that affects almost every woman and LGBTQ person in our society and across the globe. Emily May, co-founder and Executive Director of Hollaback!, helped start the international movement to end street harassment. She is one of the brightest, most engaged feminist activists, […]

Read more

Attending YTH Live? Join us at the Social Media Lounge!

Attending YTH Live? Join us at the Social Media Lounge!

This April, the brightest minds working in youth advocacy, health and technology will gather at YTH Live. Taking place on April 6-8 in San Francisco, this conference showcases new technologies that are advancing the health and wellness of youth, young adults, and other underserved populations. Over 600 […]

Read more

Media Advisory: YTH Health Hackathon at REACH powered by LPFI

Media Advisory: YTH Health Hackathon at REACH powered by LPFI

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE      CONTACT:  Deb Levine [email protected] |(510)-835-9400 March 24, 2014  MEDIA ADVISORY  YTH, a non-profit organization based in Oakland, CA, is coordinating a free health hackathon for Alameda County residents ages 11-24 to learn to code and create apps that address and solve adolescent health and […]

Read more

Oregon Reminders: Paving the Way for Healthy Living with HIV

Oregon Reminders: Paving the Way for Healthy Living with HIV

At YTH Live 2013, I didn’t know what to expect when I attended Oregon Reminders’ presentation. I later wondered how I became hooked on the Oregon Reminders campaign only few minutes into the discussion. Why? Two reasons: 1. It is easy to sign up. 2. It helps to […]

Read more

Innovations for National Eating Disorders Awareness Week

Innovations for National Eating Disorders Awareness Week

As many as 24 million Americans suffer from an eating disorder. Yet, there is still a great need for eating disorder awareness, as eating disorders are often normalized by the media and the conversations surrounding them often perpetuate harmful myths. National Eating Disorders Awareness Week was created by […]

Read more

YTH Live TO FEATURE SHE’S SO BOSS HOST AND HUNGER GAMES FOXFACE, JACQUELINE EMERSON

 YTH Live TO FEATURE SHE’S SO BOSS HOST AND HUNGER GAMES FOXFACE, JACQUELINE EMERSON

INSPIRED: Youth – Driven Innovation = YTH Live Opening Conversation February 18, 2014, Oakland, CA YTH (youth+tech+health), advancing innovations in health technologies for young people, announced today that their April 6th conference, to be held at the Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco, CA, will feature an opening […]

Read more

Rubber Love: National Condom Month 2014

Rubber Love: National Condom Month 2014

This February, we have an entire month to give some extra love to the workhorse of the sexual health world: the condom! Of all the birth control available, the condom is the most frequently used method that not only has a high contraceptive rate (98% effectiveness rate […]

Read more

Celebrating National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, YTH Style!

Celebrating National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, YTH Style!

February 7, 2014 marks the 14-year anniversary of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD)—an initiative that established a day of action for African American communities to do the following: Get educated about the basics of HIV and AIDS in and out of their local communities. Get tested […]

Read more
ZonaSegura ZonaSegura is a trauma-informed youth-centered innovative mobile solution to address teen dating violence in Honduras. Learn more about ZonaSegura on our program page.