44 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • AUGUST 2021
TEENS TEACH TECHNOLOGY
TEENS REACH SENIORS
BY BRIANA BONFIGLIO
Young adults, teens, and children may
take for granted their ability to see
friends virtually with just the tap of
a cell phone screen, but not Syosset
High School student Asmita Mittal. She
knows that many older folks experience
difficulties using digital apps and
the internet, and that’s why she created
Teens Teach Technology (TTT).
“Our entire goal as an organization
is to reach as many seniors in need of
help as we can,” says Mittal, president
of TTT and a 16-year-old rising high
school senior.
Mittal launched TTT in May 2020,
shortly after the Covid pandemic hit
and kept many senior citizens isolated
in their homes. She had read an
article explaining isolation’s negative
mental health impacts on seniors and
how nursing home residents could no
longer interact even with one another
during the pandemic.
“That really hit me, and I felt so
bad. I wanted to do something,”
Mittal says. “I put two and two
together. There’s a whole Gen Z
population that knows how to
use their phones and Facebook
and WhatsApp like the back of
their hand.”
So Mittal got to work recruiting
her fellow Gen Z-ers.
Turns out, it didn’t take much
convincing for other teens to
want to help seniors. Nicole
Lau, a 16-year-old rising junior
at Syosset High School, joined
and is now the group’s vice
president of public relations.
Several other Syosset students
are on the board or participate
as general members, as well as
students from other high schools on
Long Island and internationally.
Syosset High School students meet with members from from
across the country.
“We’re the people that can bring
change and help,” Lau says. “All of our
programs are free.
We try to keep our lessons very interactive
but also informational.”
The group gives presentations at
libraries, nursing homes, and senior
centers through Zoom sessions and
teaches useful technological skills that
will help seniors interact
with others online. They also
host one-on-one sessions
for anyone who applies
through their website.
“This has been a useful tool
to improve social connection
during the pandemic,” one
senior says of the program.
“Great experience for seniors,”
another participant
says. “I learned a lot.”
Through social media,
teenagers from other parts
of the country expressed
interest in joining TTT.
Now the organization has 11
chapters in different states
and 180 volunteers, mostly from the
United States, but some from India,
Egypt, and Dubai, as well.
To learn more about Teens Teach Technology,
visit teensteachtechnology.org.
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