The document outlines a student self-esteem initiative by Morgan McAlpin, addressing the low self-esteem issues prevalent among teens, which can lead to destructive behaviors like suicide, substance abuse, and bullying. It highlights the significant impact of social media and cyberbullying on teen self-image and presents strategies to engage teens through relevant communications and community building. Proposed actions include launching a Facebook page for discussion, hosting a photography contest focused on self-esteem stories, and leveraging partnerships with schools to foster a supportive environment.

1. Student Self-Esteem Initiative
Morgan McAlpin

2. Agenda
• Overview
• Situation
• Issue
• Lifetouch Opportunity
• Social Media Campaign
• Why?

3. Teen Trends
22 million teens in
the United States
Spending $127
billion
$72 per week
Number one is
clothing
61% get money
from their parents

4. Tru Research
33% will spend
more
78% will spend
same or more!
84% shop online
Teens are making
their presence
known in the
marketplace.

5. Teen Suicide
Suicide is the third of the leading causes of
death for teens and young adults ages 15
through 24, according to the Centers for
Disease Control (CDC), following accidents
and homicide.
American Indians and Alaska Natives
were at the highest risk for teen
suicide at a rate of 19.7 per 10,000
(2007)
This is 1.8 times higher than the
national average
Non-Hispanic Whites followed
closely at 13.5 per 10,000 (2007)

6. Teen Suicide
Males take their own lives
four times as
often as females and
represent 79% of
all suicides (CDC).
However, women attempt
suicide two to three times
more often than men
Among young adults 15-24
years old, there are
100-200 attempts for every
completed suicide
In 2007, 14.5% of US high
school students admitted
to seriously considered
attempting suicide (CDC)

7. Cyber Bullying
Cyber bullying has
become a greater issue
since social networking
sites have taken off in
the last decade
Cyber bullying can be very damaging to
teens, leading to anxiety, depression, and
even suicide.
Reasons why cyber bullies engaged in
cyber bullying:
They deserved it (58%)
To get back at someone (58%)
For fun or entertainment (28%)

8. Cyber Bullying
Over half of all teens have been bullied
online, about the same number have
engaged in bullying themselves
More than 1 in 3 teens have experienced
cyber threats online
Only 1 in 10 young people tell a parent if
they’ve been a victim of cyber bullying
Girls are slightly more likely to be involved
in cyber bullying than boys
Cyber bullying victims are more likely to
have low self esteem and to consider
suicide
(Bullyingstatistics.org)

9. The Dove Movement for Self Esteem is
building a world where women everywhere
have the tools to inspire each other and the
girls in their lives.
Their vision is “a world where beauty is a
source of confidence, not anxiety.”
Their website is complete with a self
esteem toolkit, The Movement Story, and
an opportunity to join the movement and
share who inspired you
Dove’s partners include Girl Scouts, Boys
and Girls Club of America, and Girls, Inc.

10. Lady Gaga
“Don’t hide yourself in regret
Just love yourself and you’re set”
Lady Gaga suffered with self-esteem
issues until just recently in her life
Her song “Born this
Way” promotes a
healthy self-image
Glee used her song
in an episode where
the teens confront their self-esteem woes
and own them during the performance

11. Seniors and Info from Austin
“Celebrate all you’ve achieved”
Grad parties are an ego boost to
have everyone there for you and to
celebrate your accomplishments
Information from Austin

12. Yearbooks
Encourage schools to have students in the
yearbook more than just their individual
photo
Receiving a yearbook makes kids feel
good and part of the school
Yearbook donation
program
With X1 program, kids are
featured at ¾ length

13. Retail Stores
Stores like Abercrombie & Fitch and
Hollister are popular amongst today’s teens
These stores seek potential employees
who possess a certain “look”
I was approached in an Abercrombie and
asked to work there.
A friend of mine was playing sand
volleyball at our college and was recruited
by Hollister
Stores place the Extra Small sizes in the
front because clothing looks better in
smaller sizes

14. Situation Analysis
Problem 1
Teens see school
pictures as boring, blah, a
hassle… not a true
reflection of me!
•Portraiture is supposed to capture personality, character, and
status
•Teens do not believe that school photography is consistently
delivering on their promise to capture teens “their way.”
•What do we know about teens that will help us define our
challenge?

15. Situation Analysis
Problem 2
Teens stress about picture day.
They worry about what to wear, how
to do their make up, and ultimately
how the photos will turn out.
Many teens don’t like how
they look and pictures draw
attention to that.
The above comments were made about senior portraiture.
This dramatizes how teens really feel about school
picture day. It helps us understand why teen participation

16. “What am I going to wear?”
“If it’s a bad hair day everyone is going
to look at the picture and pick on you.”
“You don’t know what everyone is going to
think of what you wear and if it looks
retarded.”
“You don’t want to be the kid with the
terrible yearbook picture.”
“I worry about how my hair looks
right before the picture. They take
one picture and if it’s bad, it’s bad.”

17. Teen Consumer Insights about being
unique, self-expression
Searching for a unique identity, to be an individual
That’s why being able to express myself is
important
Teens express themselves by getting tattoos and
body piercings as well as through fashion trends
and hairstyles
Teens are conflicted: want to be original but also
want to feel affiliated with their peers
Creative expression specific to me.
Enjoy activities that extend sense of unique self.
Choice. Options are power. Everyone wants to
customize.
Want to portray/express a unique image and
style. Photography gives them the opportunity
to do this.

18. Teen Consumer Insights about
confidence, self-image
Image is everything!
62% of girls feel insecure or unsure
of themselves (Dove)
Teens look up to athletes, musicians, and
models as role models
I want to look perfect like my favorite
pop idol or athlete
Ideals of beauty/masculinity are often
manipulated− Photoshop, airbrushing,
plastic surgery
Strive to attain unattainable standards
More and more teens are obsessing with
their appearance
USA Weekend Student found that just 3 in 10 teens are satisfied
with their looks
50% of girls want to lose weight while half of boys want to ton up
Only 46% of high school aged boys are happy the “way they are”
A growing epidemic where form over content in no longer limited to
girls

19. Today’s teens feel imperfect

20. Issue: Low self esteem in children
produces destructive behaviors
Low self esteem at a young age is
connected to destructive behaviors at
an older age
Eleven year-old boys who displayed evidence of low self-
esteem were more likely to be dependent upon drugs at age
20 than boys who didn't have low self-esteem, according
to a study conducted at Florida State University
75% of girls with low self-esteem reported
engaging in negative activities such as
disordered eating, cutting, bullying, smoking,
or drinking when feeling badly about
themselves (Dove)

21. Treehouse Youth is a faith based, non-
profit organization offering hope and
guidance to hurting teens, alumni, and
parents during difficult times.
TreeHouse is a safe place to be real about
the pain in their lives that is causing them
to think and act out in destructive ways.
TreeHouse is a place to have fun, meet
friends, discover faith, overcome pain,
serve others, and be empowered to
succeed. TreeHouse saves teens lives

22. Statistics
Up to 1,650 young adults age 18-21 experience
homelessness nightly in Minnesota
Each day in America 4,520 children are arrested
Youth who start drinking before age 15 are 5 times
more likely to develop alcohol dependence or
abuse than those who start drinking at or after age
21
Suicide is the second leading cause of death in
15-24 year olds in Minnesota
11% of 13-16 year old girls have posted seminude
or nude pictures of themselves online
1 in 4 students in Minnesota high schools drop out
and do not graduate. This increases to nearly
60% for African American and Hispanic students

23. What can low self esteem lead to?
Teen obesity
Teen suicide Drug and
Destructive alcohol abuse
behaviors Aggression
Eating disorders Violence and
Bad grades criminal activity
Lower graduation Teen runaways
rates Depression
Higher sexual Anxiety
activity
Teen
pregnancy

24. Opportunity: Engage teens with relevant
communications as an outlet for self expressions as a
means of improving self-image
Kids and teens must have
a voice, something to stand
for, be interesting
We need to capture the
attention of today’s teen
Its tone needs to be exciting, expressive, and
confident
Don’t invade their space, create a space for them
to interact, relate, and communicate
Provide them with a community where other teens
have the same feelings, worries, insecurities
Go beyond print, communicate via social media, a
teen relevant medium

25. Challenge: Change Perceptions
“Do I look fat in these jeans?
I need to start working out.”
“Pictures create a sense of belonging because
of the emotional memories attached to them.”
–David Walsh
Teens are taking notice of their appearance at
a younger age. Today’s 12 year old is just as
self-conscious about his/her image as an 18
year old.
“Ideal standards of beauty/masculinity seen on
pop media are often unattainable and as a result
lowers self esteem.
Being reassured of “attractiveness” will raise self-esteem
and help relieve stress, anxiety, and lower the “I will take a
bad picture” syndrome.
Communications would use real teens not picture perfect
teens.
The tone will be real. It will challenge them to seek out their
own version of beauty/masculinity, rather than seeking out
media driven stereotypical perfection.

26. Self-Esteem Facebook Page
Target: Teens
Geography: US and Canada
Timing: September
Launch a Facebook page that will
provide:
A forum for teens to dialogue about self-
esteem
A source for information on the subject (links
to expert advice, guides)
Contest/Scholarship for photography and
self-esteem story

27. Opportunity for Conversation
The Facebook page will
allow students to interact
with each other through the
wall. This provides the
opportunity to share
thoughts, ideas, insecurities
• The next LNSS Marketing intern will continue to run
the Facebook page throughout the 2011-12 academic
year according to the month-by-month plan
• The forum will offer a sense of community to teens
in the US and Canada who are struggling with self-
esteem issues
• They will know they’re not alone

28. Source of Information
The Facebook page will be a place for
students to find links to expert advice,
various articles, and to participate in
polls all related to self-esteem
The hope is that this page will be a
source of information
on self-esteem and
raise awareness about
the issue affecting
today’s teens

29. Self-Esteem Photography and Story
Contest/Scholarship
Target: Teens
Geography: US and Canada
Timing: Launch in December,
close January 31
Teens will be invited to submit a photo with an
attached story about how they overcame self-
esteem issues
Winners will be selected by February 13
Winner’s and runner up’s stories will be
published in a book sold to the general public
and distributed to schools and partnering
foundations

30. Communicate and leverage with
schools to help promote self-esteem
Target: Lifetouch Schools (Teachers and
Administrators)
Geography: US and Canada
Timing: December-June
Leverage self-esteem awareness through Tools for
Schools website, Lifetouch corporate website, sell sheet
in the field
Distribute a self-esteem awareness pin to teachers and
staff
Ask teachers to nominate students who are doing an
exceptional job at building self-esteem among the
student body
Books will be distributed to schools at the close of the
academic year with the hopes of continuing the
awareness into the following year