He is only 17 years old Tejasvi Manoj, the girl who has developed a platform to make the digital life of the elderly safer and which for this was chosen by Time as Kid of the Year 2025.
His is in all respects a commitment to defense over 60 from cyber crime, which was born from an episode of personal life: in February 2024 his grandfather was the victim of an online scam (the elderly was about to send money to a false relative who asked for help in e-mail), which is why Tejasvi decided to develop a tool to protect the most vulnerable bands.
Hence the idea of creating Shield Seniors (literally: “Shield for the elderly”), a website that will also be apps, with intuitive interface, clear texts and large characters.
What is Shield Seniors
It is a platform that will include various learning sections dedicated to password, privacy and recognition of common scam signals. It also gives the possibility of loading all e-mails or suspicious messages, which will be subjected to an analysis of artificial intelligence with an estimated precision of around 95 %, providing immediate feedback on their reliability.
In essence, it is a site that aims to help the elderly to identify Phishing e-mails and the scam messages, to explain the common techniques of social engineering in a simple language and to connect users to resources for reporting fraud.
We at Shield Seniors are committed to making the digital world a safer place for the elderly, providing them with the knowledge and tools they need to protect themselves from computer crime. Through our app and our resources, we aim to create a future in which the elderly can enjoy the advantages of technology without risk, we read on the site.
The goal, therefore, is not so much to replace banks or law enforcement, as to give the elderly the tools and trust necessary to identify the danger early.
The Kid of the Year recognition, awarded by Time and Time for Kids, rewards a young man between 8 and 17 years who has been able to contribute significantly to improving the community and the world.
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Time praised Tejasi for having transformed a family episode into a project useful to many, combining technical skills, digital education and volunteering.
The 17 years had already received an honorable mention at the Congressal App Challenge in 2024 and has already collaborated with various communities of Senior Living To teach how to recognize and report online fraud.
Sources: Shield Seniors / Time
