THE DEN’s Post

linkedin, we need your help. Whisper it, but this little beauty of a space in North London might be coming our way (with a following wind). It's our favourite sort of canvas. A blank one. More details to follow when we don't feel like we're tempting fate...🙏 But we do need the wisdom of this amazing crowd to support us, whether with this space or another. To get from the twinkle in our eye, the dream of what we know THE DEN can be, to a design brief that we know teenagers will love, and that has vibrancy dripping from its every plug socket and door hinge, we need to find a brilliant experiential creative consultant who can partner with us, and put our esoteric thoughts through a critical, culturally cool, creative and youthful lense. Someone who spends every heartbeat thinking about experiences, spaces, architecture, hospitality and what makes them irrestible, irrepressible, and incredibly cool. Someone with their finger firmly on the pulse of global cultural relevance and what brings people together, particularly amongst the next generation. Someone up for a loose brief, probably on an ad hoc basis, and who understands how important giving our teenagers incredible spaces to socialise IRL is for the future if our society. And someone early in their career who's ready to make their mark, and be part of the journey to create the world's first youth hospitality brand. If anyone springs to mind, please comment below, or DM us?

It's not often that a world-renowned social psychologist and best-selling author like Jonathan Haidt swings into town. So when we heard he was holding court at The Union Chapel, Islington recently, we decided to head over and pick his brains on what needs to be done to solve the teen mental health crisis. We started by asking him how important it was to create spaces for young people to socialise together in real life. Here are just a few of the things he said... 👉 ‘It is 100% vital to do that.’ 👉 ‘Kids need third spaces. They are over-supervised at home, over-supervised at school. They need places to hang out.’ 👉 ‘If we get entrepreneurs here to fill the need… that would be transformative.’ He then went on to describe the concept behind THE DEN as exactly the sort of entrepreneurial model to fill the gaping void in youth services left by government (thanks in no small part to the magnificently well-connected Jessica Butcher MBE who outlined our vision to him over lunch earlier that day!) 🙏 You can get the full down-low on the latest post on our #IRLrevolution blog (below). Vive la IRL Revolution! 👊 https://lnkd.in/eyrhbKyS

Jonathon Haidt's new book is out tomorrow. And we can't wait to read it. The TL:DR? These are the 5 things we need to do to make sure the anxious generation does not become the anxious society: 1️⃣ Don’t give a smartphone as the first phone. Give a dumb-phone or smart watch if you need to communicate with your child. 2️⃣ Don’t give a smartphone until high school.  3️⃣ Don't open accounts on social media platforms until the beginning of high school (at least). 4️⃣ Do give children far more time playing with other children. 5️⃣ Do look for more ways to embed young people in stable real-world communities.  Online networks are not nearly as binding or satisfying. The 'don'ts' seem obvious. But then 'don'ts' always 'do', don't they? It's the 'dos' that need the focus. Every stick needs a 🥕. If we're to help our teenagers walk away from their smartphones, we need to give them something to walk towards... .....a safe, inspiring space where teenagers are free to be together and be themselves? A community in real life, built on a shared belief that life is more fun face-to-face? Unbeatable games, unmissable events and the unadulterated pleasure of letting your hair down on FOMO Friday with a bubble tea and banging tunes from the infinite jukebox? That? Yeah? #IRLrevolution #teenmentalhealth #anxiousgeneration #youthhospitality #startup #SEIS #EIS https://lnkd.in/gFZmbF9m

If you're the parent of a teenager, we'd love to get your thoughts on this super-quick survey, to help us make THE DEN as brilliant as it should be. If you aren't, we absolutely guarantee you know someone who is, so please do reshare this post! Give us your wisdom by clicking below 👇 https://lnkd.in/gJuPGjpD

🎩 Hats off to Gaby Hinsliff for this excellently observed article about the generation of teenagers who are retreating into the isolation of their bedrooms & screens in the absence of any better alternatives. Our teenagers deserve better than this. That’s why we’re creating THE DEN… the world’s first youth hospitality brand. Incredible venues for 12-17s, giving them a kick-ass alterative to their screens and a kick-start to their social confidence. Vive la IRL Revolution ✊ #IRLrevolution #youthmentalhealth #youthentrepreneurship #startupfunding https://lnkd.in/eGJMEygw

Thanks for having us Chichester College! 🙏 So excited to be partnering with your brilliant architecture & interior design students, along with Anne Rhind & Sally Williams at StudioARIN. Can’t wait to see your creative ideas next week… 🙌 #byteenagersforteenagers #IRLrevolution #youthentrepreneurship #hospitalitydesign

‘Teens joy-ride boat on lake 9 nights in a row.' 🚣♂️🚣♂️🚣♂️🚣♂️🚣♂️🚣♂️🚣♂️🚣♂️🚣♂️ Surely the pedalowest moment of 2023? PEAK BOREDOM 🙄 Here’s to having some more exciting options for our teenagers in 2024… https://lnkd.in/euSeQrUt