Why are girls learning about NFTs?
From a young age, children are exposed to smartphones and the internet, usually by the parents themselves. Being digital natives, kids are even quicker at figuring out how things work, even though we often underestimate them.
The world we live in has changed indefinitely, and is now marked by artificial intelligence, blockchain technologies, cryptocurrencies, and more. Therefore, we cannot expect children to understand these terms only when they grow up. Especially if they have the potential to open a door for them into a fairer virtual world.
That’s one aspect of it. The other one is related to the societal message we send to girls and how they perceive themselves.
More particularly, if you grew up as a girl, or are a parent to one, then you’re probably very well aware of how toxic the online environment can be to the wellbeing of young girls.
These are just some of the examples:
- Girls who increased their time on social media between the ages of 11 and 13 were less satisfied with their lives one year later. (The Guardian)
- The most common factors indicating that social media is negatively impacting young girls’ wellbeing are cyberbullying, lack of sleep and lack of exercise. (TIME)
Source: Miss O Cool Girls
With the ever-growing expansion of filters on social media, to an extent where it’s completely impossible to detect if it’s a true face of a person or not, the body image of young girls and beauty standards are probably at its lowest stage. Considering that these “beautifying filters” are making everyone look the same, there’s a lack of diversity and normalizing natural features.
How is this related to Web3, you might ask?
Or, how will Web3 make it better?
We’ll explain it with the example of Miss O Cool Girls.
What are Miss O Cool Girls?
Miss O Cool Girls is a company founded by a mother and daughter, Juliette Brindak Blake and Hermine Brindak, with the mission to empower, educate and build self-esteem in girls.
How does that look in practice?
Well, for example, they launched “Girls Who Mint Fund” and an NFT collection of 10,000 unique Miss O Cool Girls, generated from over 600 hand-drawn elements and stored on the Ethereum Blockchain.
What’s so unique about this collection is that girls represented on NFTs are created by the girls themselves. Some avatars have rainbow-colored skin, others have braces and acne, meaning that reality and fiction are intertwined in a way that could have never been done by an adult.
The art reflects the beautiful diversity we see, celebrating there is no one definition of what it means to be a girl. Through the creation of our reimagined web3 ecosystem, we are creating a better, safer and healthier space online for girls, where they shape their own narrative for their evolving social self.
Source: Miss O Cool Girls
They have also launched a BUIDL education hub as a resource for Web3 knowledge, especially for including girls in this space. When the users complete the first section, they unlock the ability to claim $100 worth of Ethereum for minting.
FYI, BUIDL isn’t a typo; it’s a verb that stands for building and contributing to the Web3 ecosystem.
So, let’s compare Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 for a moment.
In Web 2.0, kids were given phones, they would create an Instagram or a Snapchat account, and publish content without really knowing what was happening in the background or how other users and companies could exploit their data.
In Web 3.0, the way Miss O Girls and others are trying to shape it, children would learn about the technology, how it works and how they can use it to create art, express themselves, and make a profit for themselves rather than for big tech.
Moreover, they wouldn’t be scared off by complex terms such as crypto or blockchain, but are encouraged to approach them and understand them first-hand.
And finally, as you can see based on the example of these 25 most inspirational girls of Web3 and Metaverse and their linked social accounts (Twitter), their online presence and artwork are closely supervised by their parents and guardians.
We encourage you to take a look at their NFTs and keep an eye on them, because they might as well be the most influential artists of tomorrow. You heard it here first.
