SocialLite's website. Find SocialLite on the Apple appstore or Google Play store!

Hillary Wilkinson: (00:02)

Like almost every teenager, my guests today were constantly trapped on social media, subject to the algorithms designed to keep them scrolling for hours. They wanted to delete social media, but knew they couldn't because they needed it like we all are using to stay connected. However, as Gen Zers, they had the knowledge and the know-how to solve tech problems with tech. Their app, Socialite, removes distractions from social media and allows people to stay connected without being distracted.

Hillary Wilkinson: (01:10)

So Instagram is my personal kryptonite and I would love to get a handle on my usage. I can't wait for them to teach me how to. Welcome to Healthy Screen Habits, Mason Israel and Malek Shah.

Mason Israel: (01:27)

Thank you so much for having us. We're excited to be here. You

Malek Shaw: (01:30)

Know, looking forward to speaking about this.

Hillary Wilkinson: (01:33)

Great. Okay. So guys, I believe in starting at the very beginning of most stories. And I think the best place to start in the journey of Socialite is probably exploring why you created it.

Mason Israel: (01:47)

Sure. When we were in high school, it was our, it was our senior year and we all decided, like, we were all, our friend group, we were all doing a lot. We were all very busy with our schoolwork and, um, the other stuff that we were working on. And we were like, we really are, we really felt like we didn't have time. But then when we checked on our, checked our screen times, we were like, oh my gosh, we're spending so much time on social media. And it adds up really quickly, like a 30-minute session here, a 30-minute session there. And then you're scrolling at night. But what we found was when we tried to get off of social media, it was like I was on student council at the time. I was also running a, a game for our high school called Senior Assassin, which is, I won't go too much into it, but it's basically - 

Hillary Wilkinson: (02:40)

Oh, we, we're very familiar with it out in these parts. Okay. It's water assassins here. Yes. But yeah.

Mason Israel: (02:46)

Yeah. Yeah. So I was running the Instagram account for that and I was like, wow, like I really can't delete social media. I have all this stuff. So we, we're like, at the end of the day, what we're really wasting time on is, is the short form content, the scrolling. And, and all the platforms have added, uh, have added short form content and scrolling. I mean, back in, uh, I think it, it was, I think it was about around 2020 in COVID when TikTok really took off, um, and all of the trends took off. And then, you know, YouTube, Instagram, these, these apps used to be more about YouTube was very informational, right? Instagram was more about staying connected and having your friends post. And what started, what started to end up happening, right, is these, these other apps realized how much, how much more attention TikTok was taking away because that, those short form videos are really great at grabbing attention and keeping people scrolling.

Mason Israel: (03:29)

Um, and so, um, and that, that, that was really a, that was really a big thing for these companies. And so they just basically decided, like, hey, like, Instagram was like, hey, we're gonna add this, and then, uh, YouTube added YouTube shorts. Um, and so that, that's kind of something that we, that we found was, like, the most distracting for us as well from these apps. Um, and we're like, okay, so we had, uh, basically our challenge was we're not going to scroll Instagram reels, uh, for an entire, uh, for, for an entire month. And so that sounds for a lot of parents or, you know, somebody that doesn't scroll reels, they're like, oh my God, that's, like, super easy. You just, like, don't click a button. But for someone that spent a lot of time on it, it's actually, it really is an addiction.

Mason Israel: (04:06)

These apps were built by some of the smartest engineers in the world, and they were really built to be hard to put down. I mean, like, expecting, you know, a teenager to out-discipline, um, a billion dollar algorithm is just, it's not a fair fight, you know? And so, um, what we, so what we ended up doing is we had, like, we just had a rule. It was like an honor system. It was like, okay, you can't scroll. You can only look at your friend's posts, and, you know, they mix in a bunch of other posts, and the second you click on another post, you scroll. And it, it's just really difficult. And so, um, we completed the challenge, uh, with a, a few accidental scrolls here and there, which sounds so silly, but it's so easy to do. Um, but that's kind of how it all started, is we were like, like, it was, it was really hard.

Mason Israel: (04:45)

Like three of our friends failed the challenge because they just literally, like, they literally. I mean, we were honest about it. It was like, hey, like, I was scrolling, like, and I, I realized I, I'd gone too far. We had a rule where you had to scroll three videos in order to be out of the challenge because it was like, you, you literally would scroll multiple videos without even realizing it. It's that addicting. And so, um, at the, at the end of that, I was like, okay, like, why. There's all these screen time apps out there, right? And I'm, I'm not here to, to dis any of them because they're all. It's very, very amazing creative solutions, but what they all do very similarly is they all block the actual apps, uh, and they basically, um, they basically don't allow, um, don't allow you to access them at all at certain times, right?

Mason Israel: (05:26)

they all just lock everything or unlock nothing. And so what happens is when you're on it, you're still getting trapped into that scrolling loop and you're getting distracted. And when you're off of it, you can't see anything. You can't message your friends, and it's, it's, it's a problem, you know? 

Hillary Wilkinson: (05:46)

It's very feast or famine.

Mason Israel: (05:48)

Absolutely. Absolutely. And we were like, "Why can't we just remove the distractions?" That was our, that was our, that was our question. And it hadn't been done before, because of course, um, these, these platforms make it really, really difficult. Um, and, you know, that's, that's, that's the main issue, right, is that, like, if, if Instagram could turn off reels, they definitely would. Um, but it's their main source of ad revenue, of course, so they're not gonna do it. 

Hillary Wilkinson:

So now that you guys have had this whole experience and you've been able to block the short form content, what have you noticed?

Malek Shaw: (08:22)

So I'm Malik. I'm the of socialite and I've kind of handled more of the technical side actually building the product whereas Mason does marketing. But there's been a lot of changes I've noticed for me. Um, the first is, again, it makes it more clear how addicted I was because I will go finding myself trying to click on the Instagram button or even trying to click on the reels button because it's kind of ingrained in me. And when I have a little bit of spare time, my first instinct was to go kind of fill that with the short form content. And now I click it and nothing happens, and that has been quite beneficial for me.

Mason Israel: (08:56)

Um, yeah. I mean, we, we essentially just added a feature where, um, it, the, our app actually blocks the real Instagram app. So when you go to open it, it kind of reminds you like, "Hey, like, you know, you're supposed to be using Socialite because that's what you, that's what you downloaded it for was to not have the short form content." Um, but for us, it was, I mean, at least for me, it was, it was, it was really hard, you know? Like for the first, for the first little bit, like I talked about in our challenge, it's, it's really like the, the big, the biggest thing I feel like for me, what I experienced is it's really like a one week, a one week, it's really hard to remind yourself not to scroll. Um, and that's kind of where the app comes in. Uh, but then after that,the desire goes away for sure.

Mason Israel: (09:34)

But the biggest thing is like, if you don't have something else you're doing, um, I mean, when I, when I first did our screen time challenge, I felt so, I felt like I had so much extra time on my hands, like really. Like I started, I started playing like chess.com for like an hour and a half a day, just because of how much time it was saving me. Um, and I also was able to, I, I, I wasn't scrolling, like I used to scroll in the gym a lot, like between sets. Um, and that, uh, that, like, it was really helpful for me, uh, to not do that. I got, my workouts were a lot better, my head was a lot clearer. I, like, because, you know, it was never one or two scrolls. It was always, like, five and I'd just be sitting on the bench and, you know - Yeah,

Hillary Wilkinson: (10:15)

Because you're right. I mean, that's how it's designed. So one of the things that we did not cover, and I'm feeling remiss going into it, is you guys are really young, okay? I mean, you're. Can you, um, talk about how old were you when you met and how old are you now?

Mason Israel: (10:36)

We are both 19. Uh, Malek and I met in first grade. Yeah,

Hillary Wilkinson: (10:44)

First grade. I love this. I love this.

Mason Israel: (10:45)

And we've been, we've been, we've been best friends ever since. So, um, a lot of, a lot of our interests have, have collided because I feel like we've just grown, grown together in these past few years. So, um, yeah, it's, it's been great. Uh, and Malek actually lived abroad for two years and I lived abroad for one year, so we were kind of separated and then came back together and it all, it all seemed to work out.

Hillary Wilkinson: (11:04)

And - Dynamic duo.

Malek Shaw: (11:07)

Yeah. And now we actually split up again for this year. Mason was off in London studying at Northeastern, and I was on my first year at CU in Boulder.

Mason Israel: (11:16)

Yeah, and we, uh, we were still able to, to build this from overseas, which is, which is really cool.

Hillary Wilkinson: (11:21)

Oh, and see, and that's like one of those, the wonders of the, the power of good, good use of technology, right?

Mason Israel: (11:28)

Absolutely.

Hillary Wilkinson: (11:29)

Yeah. So when we come back, I'm gonna ask Malek and Mason for an inside look at Gen Z's relationship with social media. 

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Ad Break: HSH Presentations

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Malek Shah and Mason Israel, created the app, Socialite, to help combat the addictive tendencies of social media. So before we get into more details on Socialite, let's first explore something that you guys are kind of experts by proxy in, and that being Gen Z. So this is that group of individuals born between 1997 and 2012. It's the last group to represent the 1900s. Our first group to be raised in our digital age of cell phones, social media, and the almighty algorithmic push. So knowing that you guys are by proxy, experts in this field, can you tell me or share with us what social media means to Gen Z? Like, what role is it playing?

Malek Shaw: (13:09)

So I think social media has become so deeply entrenched in Gen Z's social life. And the best example I can give is when I entered into high school, I was coming to a completely new school in which I didn't know anyone. And so as everyone does, I went out of my way to meet as many people as possible and connect with them. And at the tail end of those conversations where I connect with them, the question would be, "Can I get your Snap?" And that kind of marks the movement of taking that social interaction that was in person and moving it to the online state on social media where it kind of continues. And essentially, I think that as kind of children get older and they move into more of these social lives and grow up, their social lives shift to being almost entirely on social media, you know, in a way that wasn't possible before.

Mason Israel: (14:01)

Yeah. I mean, I think it's really, like, the in-person and the digital world have really combined in a very interesting way. And I really feel like, I mean, for us, like, we all have Instagram accounts, of course, and it's like, you kind of, like, cater your own personality and your own persona, um, on Instagram. I feel like for, like, like, like, e- e- even in dating, any girl that you talk to or any, any girl that talks to a guy, like, they're gonna go look at your Instagram account to find out about you. It's, like, the first thing you d - that's the first thing people do. And so it really just helps you, it really just kinda creates an image around, around yourself, and people really, uh, people in our age really work very hard to kind of cater that image, even if it's not even real, or even if it's, like, yeah, it's like the, the one or two times I've gone to a different country or the one or two times I've done something, um, you know, it just really, it.

Mason Israel: (14:51)

Uh, Malek, you wanna add to that?

Malek Shaw: (14:53)

Yeah, I mean, I think social media has kind of become a new leg of people's perception of themselves. Like, they kind of get to craft who they think they are and who they want to portray themselves as to other people.

Hillary Wilkinson: (15:06)

Yeah, they kind of curate their brand, right?

Mason Israel: (15:09)

For sure.

Hillary Wilkinson: (15:10)

Yeah. And I, I, I think I'm particularly aware of that in that I've had two kids who have had Instagram prior to going to college, and then I noticed that they went and they totally scrubbed their grid prior to going to school. Yeah. Did you guys do the same thing?

Mason Israel: (15:32)

I actually, I did, I did remove quite, quite a few posts before going to school, just because, like, I wanted this, like, I wanted this fresh image of myself. And it was like, when I went, I remember, like, Welcome Week, for me, it was all about getting people's Instagrams, not getting people's numbers. And, and there is something that -

Hillary Wilkinson: (15:47)

So that's interesting though. You. Uh, so it's about getting their Instagrams, not their Snaps?

Mason Israel: (15:52)

Um, I mean, so I actually try to, like, avoid using Snapchat, but, like, yes, Snapchat

Hillary Wilkinson: (15:56)

Is - I could not applaud you more for that, Mason. Yes, but I - However.

Mason Israel: (16:00)

Yes, I think it's, I think it's a bit of both. So, like, a lot of people will do. A lot of pe - in Europe, it's a, it's a little bit more Instagram, and since I did my first year in London, um, that was kind of why. But what, what I liked personally about using Instagram, and, like, yes, I think most people ask for Snapchat, but it's, it's, it. You can do both very easily. And so for me, it was like I was meeting so many people that when I got to add them on Instagram, I could put a face to the name. And so for me, that was really helpful. Um, and so there's definitely good components of that as well, because I kind of have this whole picture and I kind of know who they are, and the next time I see them, you know, I know them.

Mason Israel: (16:32)

So that was how I, I kept track of it. But, uh, we definitely used a lot of Snapchat. It was really easy to find people because when you have someone's number, right, you're, you're, you just have, you get added to a group chat, and if you don't have their contact, it's like, you, you don't, you don't have anything really. Like, you, it's just a number. So, whereas on Snapchat, like, you just get put on a group chat with all these people, you'd be like, "Oh, like, you know, you see someone in a group chat for a party, for example, and you see that, that's, like, what we do, what we do a lot. It's like, I remember in high school in both college when we were throwing a party, like, we would make a group chat so we could see everyone that was invited, uh, kind of keep track of it.

Mason Israel: (17:02)

So a lot of people. We didn't have too many people, but everyone kind of knew who was going, and it was a great. And you could. Oh, you'd be like," Oh, you know, I didn't have Mason's information. I can just go ahead and ad him. It's cool that he's going. "So it's, it's, it's great for, for our generation to have a very, very fast connection, I think.

Hillary Wilkinson: (17:19)

There's a lot of, um, dragging of social media in general, but there's also a lot of positive movements and, you know, good work that goes on with social media, I think.

Malek Shaw: (17:42)

I mean, I think both of us can speak to this. I think one of the largest testaments is actually staying connected internationally. Um, the best example is that I'm still in touch with one of my best friends from when I lived in Pakistan, completely through social media. Um, I'm able to kind of not. When we're not connecting, like, through a call or something like that, but I can keep, like, a loose tab on what he's up to through what he posts on Instagram and through that kind of side of things. And Mason has done the same with his friends from Spain. Yeah,

Mason Israel: (18:10)

Absolutely. Like, I have, uh, I lived in Spain for a year, and even, even now, like, after meeting a bunch of friends at college and we all go back to live in our respective, respective countries and states, it's like, I can still see what they're up to. And if I, if they're doing something really cool, or maybe they traveled very near me and I don't even know, and I see on their story, I can go visit them. So it's really just, uh, it really is just a great way to stay connected, and there, there is that piece, uh, for sure, is, is, is the connection. That's, that's the main thing. And that's why everyone has social media. It's not, it's not, it's not for the short form content, especially Instagram and, and Snapchat. You know, TikTok is definitely a little bit more on the side of, like, yeah, we're just gonna scroll.

Mason Israel: (18:46)

But, uh, I feel like for, for Instagram and Snapchat, it really, it really is connection first, and then the, uh, the short form content is, is second, but unfortunately, it's a second you can't escape. Mm.

Malek Shaw: (18:55)

And something else that I've, I've noticed is, um, specifically Snapchat kinda serves as, like, a more informal level of getting to know someone. Um, so someone that you meet only once that you wouldn't, you know, ask for their phone number, really follow up with them because you don't know them that well. There's kind of a new intermediary, which is asking for their Snap, and you're able to kind of get to know them virtually.

Hillary Wilkinson: (19:25)

In a sense. Yeah. No, I know there's this whole, like, kind of graduation in, like, dating that I think is so interesting, where it starts, like, in the social media realm, then going to text, then going to. You know, I mean, you have to, like, gradually - Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Kind of, like, titrate through these layers until you become, actually comfortable t - enough to, oh my God, you, like, actually dial a number and talk to somebody, you know? I

Mason Israel: (19:56)

Know. It's, it's very funny. It's kind of like, like, you know, we. Like it's like asking, asking to be someone's girlfriend is, like, you're asking a girl to be your girlfriend after seeing her for a while is, like, a big thing. But now it's like. I mean, it's not, it's not really a big thing, but it's like, oh, like, people sometimes ask, like, if you just met a girl, you're texting her on Snapchat, it's like, oh, like, do you have her number yet? Like, you should probably get that. Like, it's very, it's very funny, and, like, we kind of put, like -

Hillary Wilkinson: (20:16)

But yeah, but, like, maybe you have her Snap, but you don't have her number. Yeah. That's a whole layer plan. Don't

Mason Israel: (20:20)

Drop the number yet. Like it's, it's like another layer of achievement, you know? And I feel like -

Hillary Wilkinson: (20:24)

Totally.

Mason Israel: (20:24)

It's. And that's, like, the way our, our generation has, has really gone. And, you know, I, I don't, I don't like it. I always, if I meet someone, I do really try to ask somebody for, for their number right away if I, if I really wanna get to know them well. But like I said, when I'm meeting a lot of people at once, I, Instagram is just the most helpful way to keep track of faces and names. So, you know, it, it just depends. But, like, I think if, you know, i- i- in today's world, it's just very rare to, to ask for someone's number right away, which I find, which I find very interesting.

Hillary Wilkinson: (20:51)

Yeah. Yeah. No, and, and very unique to your age group, you know? Absolutely. Yeah. So it's. Yeah. So when we, meaning Healthy Screen Habits, we, the collective we, get asked to present at a school, we'll do, like, classroom visits or assemblies, and then typically later that evening, we'll do a presentation designed for parents, so that everybody's kinda speaking the same language, you know? And it's my experience when I visit high schools, many of the students are looking for tips in managing their screen time. Like, a lot of people are actively seeking how to manage their screen time. And this then totally flies in the face of what I hear later that night at the parent meeting where parents are saying that screen time is the biggest source of conflict in their house. And, you know, I mean, that's the, that's the point they're all fighting over.

Hillary Wilkinson: (21:46)

So how do you suggest that parents effectively kind of support kids in managing screen time?

Mason Israel: (21:55)

I think the biggest thing for a lot of parents, they're not using these apps as much as, as, as their kids are, and they don't really understand, um, they don't really unders- understand how they work and what the good parts are, what the bad parts are. And so for a parent, it's really hard. And for a kid, it's also really hard because, A, their parents don't really understand exactly how, you know, exactly, like, what the good parts in the a - the, the bad parts of the apps are. So they really, it's really hard for kids to get support from their parents, but it's also really easy for kids to, you know, manipulate their parents and just say, "Oh, there's this app, TikTok.

Mason Israel: (22:38)

All my friends are talking on it. It's the only way I can talk to them." And they're like re - like, parents will be like, "Oh, really? Like, I, you know..." Like that's what my sister did. She was like, like, "Mom, like, all my friends are on Instagram. Like, it's literally the only way I can, I can talk to them now." And my mom's like, "Oh, really? Like, I, I, I didn't know." And it, and it's not, like, entirely true. And so, like, for parents, I feel like there's, there's this, there's this thing where, like, there's, there's just this disconnect between what they know about the social media platforms and how their kids actually use it. And so what I suggest for parents is to just really, like, take some time, you know, there's. The AI is a great resource. You can ask it anything.

Mason Israel: (23:10)

I would be like, like, I would, I would ask, like, hey, how, how is my kid using, you know, give me all of the apps, um, that people of my, my kids' age use, and tell me how they use them, and tell me what, um, you know, what I should allow my kid to have versus not have, and, and what the limits are for that. And so, um, I mean, and, and really, like, we, we encourage parents to have their. Like for my sister, for example, like, the other day, like, uh, we had, uh, we had her get. My mom allowed her to get Socialite because there's this. A lot of parents don't even know there's these great app-blocking features that Apple has. Um, they're the parent, they're the parent screen time features, and it basically makes it so you have to ask for permission to get an app.

Mason Israel: (23:51)

That's a great tool for parents. Um, and so - However,

Hillary Wilkinson: (23:54)

I will add that Apple is notoriously difficult with their updates, because a lot of times, if you have an automatic update come in, it will reset all of those things that you have in place. So I, I, I hear what you're saying. I will say yes, and if you are only using the Apple parental controls, I would be doing frequent checks.

Mason Israel: (24:26)

Absolutely. No, and, and, and the biggest thing is kids can really just, you know, get, get the codes easily, um, take their parents' phone. But the App approval thing, that is the one thing that really works, and that's, that's what we encourage parents to use with alongside, um, our app, because then they can, they can be like, you can have this app on your phone, you can have Socialite, which does, which has all the good parts of social media, but then it doesn't have, you know, the. It d. But then the kids don't have Instagram. Like my sister doesn't even have the Instagram app on her phone. She can still use it through Socialite. And that's, that's a big thing. But really, it's, it's not, it's not even about, like, whether the parent features, Socialite, whatever tools. I think it's just really important for parents to understand how it actually works and just take the time to really understand how they can best support their kids.

Mason Israel: (25:07)

Um, and a lot of kids really know they have the problem, but, um, there's, there's just not enough out there, uh, out there for them. And, you know, they're, they're not gonna listen to their parents being like, "Hey, you need to spend less time on that." Like, of course, like, that's like, you know, let all parent, you know, all parents say that. Right.

Hillary Wilkinson: (25:20)

I mean,

Malek Shaw: (25:22)

Right now, it's mostly kids against their parents because there's kind of this disconnect and lack of understanding from both sides, and when it really should just be the kids and the parents working together to kind of overcome this force that is really messing up people's lives now.

Hillary Wilkinson: (25:37)

Yeah, so, so - I totally agree. Yeah.

Mason Israel: (25:39)

And so what we really just recommend is, like, parents, like, understa- understand what your kids are going through, understand the exposure they have. Um, and it can be hard, especially, like, you know, especially from, for, for my dad who's a little bit older, like, he's like, you know, like, when I first started posting on, on our, our Instagram account for the business, he wanted to find it, and I had to, like, teach him what the difference between, like, a story and a post was and, like, you know, what, what that, what that looks like. So I, I, I totally understand that it's very hard. It's sometimes it's very hard for parents to understand. Um, even if you are a parent and you are very, you, you know, you're using these social platforms, you're using Instagram, you're likely still not, not using them to the same degree, um, that the kid, that kids are.

Mason Israel: (26:17)

And there's really, there's so many updates. There's always features that come out, um, and it's just really about taking the time to understand what those are.

Hillary Wilkinson: (26:24)

Yeah. And I think when you're saying, like, parents just need to understand, I think a good place to start with is just curiosity with your child. Yeah. You know, you just ask them, just ask, like, "Oh, what, like, what are these circles at the top of the page? Okay, what is it? Like, what, what's this plus? What's that?" You know? 'Cause it's. And then it, it kind of becomes fun, you know? 

Mason Israel: (26:45)

Absolutely. Like, I used, I remember watching, like, Instagram reels with my dad, but it was my feed. It was my personalized feed. He was like, he was like, "How do you watch this stuff?" And I was like, "Uh, I don't know. Like, you know, just like, just like anything, like, if you, if you do it enough, it, it becomes really hard to stop." But then it was funny because, like, a few months later, my, one of my dad's friends was on Instagram. He sent him an Instagram video. And, uh, he started, like, he started watching them and it was more personalized towards him. And he was like, "Oh, like, I get it now. I can see how you guys, like, watch this stuff." Like, I, because it, it, you know, and it's, it really is about the personalization of the feed. So it's like, you know, maybe - For sure.

Mason Israel: (27:21)

Make your own Instagram account and try and scroll for 15 minutes and, and interact with videos and get the algorithm to, to know you and, and then, and then see where you're at as a parent.

Hillary Wilkinson: (27:29)

Yeah. So let's talk about your guys' app. So what is, like, the function of SocialLite? What does it do? Why, why should people be interested in it?

Malek Shaw: (27:40)

Okay. So we're really excited about this because it's kind of the dream solution for both of us. And what it is, is a platform that has all the regular social media apps on it. It's just kind of a modified version of them. So you log in, you keep all of your current followers, all of your friends, you still have everything that you need. You just kind of transport your social life onto it, and it removes just the short-form content element. That's, that's all it does.

Hillary Wilkinson: (28:25)

And so does it remove also, like, I. So I'm gonna show my hand here. I get a lot of shopping, like, ads. Like, I, I've got a lot of weddings to go to this summer. Okay? I, I have continual wedding dr - wedding guest dress, like, um, ads being fed to me. So does it remove the ads?

Mason Israel: (28:46)

It actually, it actually does, yes. So we, uh, so that was, that was kinda like what, what we moved into after the short form content was we were like, "Hey, we're gonna rem- remove all distractions." So yes, it removes all ads. You can even turn off the suggested feature on YouTube, so you're only searching videos. So it's really just about finding what you need and not getting distracted by anything else. And then for Instagram, uh, we, not only do we remove ads, but we actually filter out. So on your homepage, if you are familiar with Instagram, you, you know that it's not just your friends posts on there. You're seeing posts - Right. All the time. And sometimes when you're scrolling through really quickly, it's like, you can't even, you're like, because you don't know everyone on Instagram really well. It's just kinda like you wanna see what your acquaintances are up to, and you have to, like, look at each post and be like, "Wait, do I know this person?

Mason Israel: (29:27)

Do I not?" So we just were like, "You know what? If you're not following them, we're not gonna show it." So SocialLite actually has the ability to filter out the suggested posts feature. So you're literally only seeing posts from your friends and from content creators and influencers that you're following. If you're not following them, you won't see it. And that's something that, uh, that has never been done before that

Hillary Wilkinson: (29:46)

Yeah. So it's your own list of people. It's

Mason Israel: (29:49)

Literally just your feed.

Hillary Wilkinson: (29:51)

Which is so wonderful because how many times do your friends' posts get buried. In all the other garbage - Absolutely. That's lined up there. I would love this. I, I would love this, you know, curated feed of just what I'm, what I'm interested in seeing, not in all the other stuff.

Mason Israel: (30:11)

We're really just trying to become, you know, a way for people to just be, you know, healthier dig- digitally, which is what, everybody wants at the end of the day. And so, you know, another thing that I found for myself was, uh, like my New Year's resolution actually was to not use my phone for the first 20 minutes of the day, because that's, that's, it's a critical time and there's, you, you do - if, if you're using your phone for those first 20 minutes, your dopamine is spiking and it just, and, and you can't get that dopamine spike again throughout the rest of your day.

Mason Israel: (30:51)

And just really, it just really makes, makes your day a lot harder. Like people don't realize that, but, um, if, if you're using your phone for the first 20 minutes of your day, it really just subconsciously doesn't set you up in the, in the right way. Um, but for me in London, I, I, I kind of broke that because I was, I was living on a time difference from, uh, from Malek and, you know, other people that I was working with. And so when I was, when I woke up every morning, there was a bunch of messages from the night before, um, and I just, I just couldn't resist myself checking them. But what I realized is like, anything can wait 20 minutes. If you, if it can't wait 20 minutes, you should set your alarm for 20 minutes earlier. Um, and so working on a, on a feature in SocialLite for that, that actually locks your phone for the first 20 minutes after you get up and the first 20 minutes bef - and then, then the 20 minutes before you go to bed, um, just to help you now, so.

Hillary Wilkinson: (31:35)

Awesome. Okay, we have to take a short break, but when we come back, I'm gonna ask these guys for their Healthy Screen Habit. So also, I know that you guys have some parent features on your app. Can you speak to those?

Mason Israel: (32:21)

Yeah, absolutely. So, um, basically the, all of the, all of the features we talked about where there's, there's content filtering, um, and, you know, you can, you basically as a parent, you can, uh, set it up on your kid's, on your child's device and you can manage all of those settings and you can turn on, the suggested post filtering, you can turn off reels. There's, you have access to all of the settings that we offer for regular users, but as a parent, you can actually have control of those. But then also for, for kids, if a parent decides not to actually force that feature, um, kids can still turn them on for themselves because a lot of kids really like taking, taking initiative and helping themselves with their own screen time. So - Yeah. It's a great way for, for parents to really manage, uh, manage themselves through Socialite, uh, manage their kids through Socialite.

Malek Shaw: (33:07)

And it's extremely modular. This kind of the point of Socialite is to give people back control of what they should already have. And so you can toggle on whatever you would like. You can toggle off stories, you can toggle off the main feed, whatever's distracting you. It's kind of personalizing it to make yourself successful and kind of combating your screen time addiction.

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Hillary Wilkinson: (33:25)

We're back. On every episode of Healthy Screen Habits podcast, I ask for a healthy screen habit, and this is going to be a tip or takeaway that listeners can put into practice in their own home. What's yours?

Mason Israel: (33:52)

So for me, um, it's really just when you, when you decide to get off of social media and you decide to really take back your time, um, you need, with any, with any, this is with any addiction, um, and it's kind of crazy that we're comparing social media to, like, real addictions, but it really is one. Yes. And it's like, you have to replace that addiction with something else. You have to. And it's something we don't talk about enough. People will download our app and remove short-form content from Instagram. And a lot of them will just be like, "Oh, I went back to the actual Instagram app. Like I just couldn't do it." And it's like, yeah, like you really have. It was, it was actually one, one, one of my friends brought it up right when we released the app. He's like, "You need to encourage people to really replace it with something else." And that's the biggest thing.

Mason Israel: (34:29)

If you're trying to take back your time from, uh, from these big companies that are building algorithms to, um, take your attention, you really need to replace it with something. Uh, so for me, that was spending more time in the gym and learning and picking up chess. I, I got very good at chess o- on that little challenge I talked about where we, we didn't  form content for a month. I, I replaced that with chess. I, I spent like an hour and a half on chess.com every day and I, I got pretty good at it. Um, and that was just a great way for me to re- replace that, replace that with something else, you know?

Hillary Wilkinson: (34:58)

Yeah. Something enriching.

Malek Shaw: (35:00)

I think you need kind of a short task. I think something that's generally overlooked is how, for the younger generation, whenever you have a spare minute, you feel the need to fill that with something. And the easiest thing that is often chosen is social media. And so when you've taken your time to get off social media, you have that little bit of time that you need to fill with something. And so you have to be very intentional about what you're replacing that with, whether it's keeping up with a book or a podcast or something along those lines. But there has to be something there so that you're not sitting there with kind of this, all this free time with no need for it, with no use for it.

Hillary Wilkinson: (36:53)

And great. As always, you can find a complete transcript of this show by visiting the show notes for this episode. You do this by going to healthyscreenhabits.org, click the podcast button and find this episode. You're also going to find in those show notes an affiliate link to try out Socialite to gain your time and attention back and find those, uh, little pearls of, of, uh, five-minute windows in your day, just like these guys were talking about. Mason, Malik, thank you for being here and for being the example of all the good things we have to look forward to as Gen Z rolls out better innovations in tech.