- By Sarju Saran Tiwari
- Thu, 11 Sep 2025 06:30 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Seventeen-year-old Tejasvi Manoj, an Indian Origin American teen from Texas, is named as the TIME’s Kid of the Year 2025, honouring her contribution to online safety for old age adults. She is also making waves in the technology world, not just for her skills, but for the social impact she’s creating , Tejasvi is being recognised as one of the most promising young changemakers in the country.
Who Is Tejasvi Manoj?
Born in California and Raised in Dallas, in the US state of Texas since the age of eight, Tejasvi found her passion for coding in middle school after joining 'Girls Who Code', a national non-profit organisation that empowers young women in computing.
"That’s when I realised how amazing coding can be and how much I enjoy it. Moreover, I understood the impact I can make by learning to code, and I instantly knew I wanted to pursue it in the future," she said, as per a Global Indian report.
she is a second-generation immigrant, balances her Indian origin heritage with American culture. She feels responsible for contributing to both countries, inspired by her parents' encouragement to believe in herself and make a difference.
She received an honourable mention in the 2024 Congressional App Challenge. With determination, Tejasvi developed 'Shield Seniors', a platform designed to educate and empower older adults to recognise and avoid online scams.
Along with this, She also presented the project at 2025 TEDx Talk in Plano, Texas, about the need to build “digital bridges” to all demographics.
Inspiration To Build 'Shield Seniors' From Family Incident:
Tejasvi Inspiration came from a family experience, When her 85-year-old grandfather was nearly fell victim to an online scam. He received a message urgently requesting a money transfer. It was a clear phishing attempt, full of suspicious wording and pressure tactics. she then realised how vulnerable many seniors citizens are to digital threats.
In response, he leveraged his coding skills, developed through years of self-teaching and programs like the Congressional App Challenge, where he received an Honorable Mention in 2024, to build a solution that would have a real-world impact.
"Our goal for Shield Seniors is to make sure older adults are independent and know what to look for. We want to make sure they’re able to navigate the online world confidently, with independence, and with dignity," Tejasvi explained.
As per the TIME, scams targeting older adults resulted in nearly five billion dollars in losses only in 2024, underscoring the necessity of initiatives like Shield Seniors.
TIME's 2025 Kid of the Year Tejasvi Manoj built Shield Seniors, a website designed to educate the 60-plus demographic about what online scams look like, analyze suspicious emails and messages users upload, and, if the communications prove fraudulent, provide links to report them.… pic.twitter.com/LOLBADuNlt
— TIME (@TIME) September 9, 2025
Tejasvi's efforts aim to bridge the digital literacy gap among vulnerable populations.
What Is 'Shield Seniors' Platform?
It is a platform designed to protect the elderly from cyber scams and frauds. It is an AI-powered app that provides clear guidance on how to detect and avoid online threats.
In addition, users can learn about online safety directly, ask questions through chatbots, analyze suspicious emails or messages, and get step-by-step guides for online safety. This platform is currently in private preview mode.