22 Apr A Special Message from Fluent Founder and President Nellie Gregorian
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
This year marks a meaningful milestone for Fluent Research: our 20th anniversary.
When I launched Fluent two decades ago, the world looked very different. Social media barely existed. Smartphones were not yet in everyone’s pockets. AI was largely the subject of research labs and science fiction. And the questions we now ask every day — about how children grow up in digital environments, how girls navigate a world not always designed with them in mind, how media shapes who young people become — were only beginning to take shape.
Over the past 20 years, technology, media, and education have transformed how people live, learn, and connect. Throughout that time, our mission has remained constant: to generate insights that help organizations understand people — especially young people — in moments of rapid change.
Along the way, we’ve had the privilege of working with extraordinary partners across children’s media, education, technology, philanthropy, and public interest organizations. Together, we’ve studied how young people experience the world — their mental health and wellbeing, their access to quality education, their place in a world of persistent inequality — and how research can inform better design, policy, and impact.
We’ve evaluated programs aimed at educating girls in underserved communities around the world. We’ve studied the digital wellbeing of families navigating an always-on world. We’ve helped technology companies understand their youngest users — and their responsibility to them.
This year we’ll be reflecting on that journey — and looking ahead.
Throughout the year we’ll share:
🎬 A short documentary on the history of Fluent.
💡 Insights from two decades of research on youth, media, and technology.
🎤 Conversations with partners and leaders shaping the future of children’s digital wellbeing, trust & safety, and girls’ empowerment.
📊 New perspectives on designing technology responsibly — for all users, especially the youngest ones — in the age of AI.
Our theme for this year is: 20 Years of Insight for a Changing World.
For two decades, Fluent Research has helped organizations understand people in moments of cultural and technological change – shaping better media, safer digital experiences, stronger learning environments, and more human-centered innovation.
The pace of change isn’t slowing down. If anything, the questions ahead — about AI, children’s and teens’ mental health, youth wellbeing, and the design of digital environments that are safe, equitable, and empowering — are becoming more complex and more important.
We’re grateful to the clients, collaborators, and team members who have been part of this journey. Twenty years in, we remain as committed as ever to the belief that good research — in service of the right questions — can make a real difference in people’s lives.
And we’re excited for what comes next.
With gratitude,
Nellie
