Face it… 21st-century parenting means none of us is surprised to see a teen hunched over his or her phone. While the parent in us might want to occasionally say “return to the here and now” or “give that a break”, research shows online learning works across disciplines. Knowing this, it makes sense that we leverage its power for this particular technology-loving demographic of 12-18-year-olds. Online devices are a great delivery tool to get teens the information and exercises they need to help inform their behaviour, increase their self-awareness and improve reasoning and decision-making skills.

Gobi strives to reconnect teens to their parents. Parent engage with Gobi to build and strengthen a supportive relationship with their child through guided exercises and conversations. For example, teens are instructed to ask their parents to schedule five walks or drives during which both have to answer the same questions. Parents are encouraged to be receptive and open to the experience. To help promote the teen’s success and to offer encouragement, Gobi emails parents support material on parent communication skills and research on teen substance abuse.

Gobi’s novel approach goes with the flow to make the most of an engaging way to connect with teens.  Gobi offers a mobile platform that connects teens, families and caregivers with online programming to address drug or alcohol problems.