17-year-old Tejasvi Manoj becomes TIME's Kid of the Year 2025 for protecting seniors from cyber fraud.
In an era where cyber criminals prey on the most vulnerable members of our society, one Texas teenager has emerged as an unlikely hero in the digital battlefield.
Meet Tejasvi Manoj, the 17-year-old Indian-American high school student who has just been named TIME's Kid of the Year 2025 for her groundbreaking work in protecting senior citizens from online fraud and cybercrime.
A Personal Spark Ignites a Mission
In the bustling suburbs of Frisco, Texas, where tech dreams collide with everyday life, an ordinary car ride turned into a wake-up call for then 16-year-old Tejasvi. It was May 2024, and as she cruised home with her dad after a Scouting America campout, her father's phone buzzed frantically with missed calls from her 85-year-old grandfather in San Jose.
The story that unfolded?
A slick phishing email masquerading as a desperate plea from her uncle, demanding $2,000 to settle an 'urgent debt.' Her grandfather, tech-naive but trusting, was moments away from wiring the cash -- until her dad intervened, uncovering the scam in the nick of time.
That heart-pounding moment wasn't just a family close call; it ignited a fire in Tejasvi, a whip-smart junior at Lebanon Trail High School with Indian roots and a California birthplace before her family's move to Texas in third grade.
Growing up in a household of software engineers -- her parents immigrated from India in the early 2000s for IT gigs -- she'd been tinkering with code since eighth grade, diving into cybersecurity through programmes like Girls Who Code and CyberPatriot.
But this hit close to home, exposing a massive digital divide: Seniors losing billions to cyber crooks each year, with fraud against those over 60 spiking 32% in 2024 alone, racking up nearly $5 billion (Rs 41,135 crore) in losses.
Tejasvi, already an Eagle Scout, violinist in her school orchestra, and volunteer tutor for Bhutanese refugees, couldn't stand by. 'If you're lucky yourself,' she says, 'you want to make sure other people feel loved and lucky too.'
Building a Digital Shield for Seniors
Channelling her inner tech wizard, Tejasvi rolled up her sleeves and built Shield Seniors -- a sleek, AI-powered web app designed to arm older adults against online predators.
No jargon-filled nightmare here; it's senior-friendly with big fonts, a calming blue vibe, and four powerhouse sections:
- Learn: Breaks down basics like strong passwords in plain English
- Ask: Lets users chat with a tailored AI bot for quick advice
- Analyse: Scans uploaded emails or texts for scam red flags with 95% accuracy, explaining the 'why' behind the verdict; and
- Report: Zips you straight to FBI or AARP links to blow the whistle.
She iterated relentlessly, testing it on her grandparents and local seniors, even overcoming jitters at her first seminar: 'What if no one shows up? What if I totally mess up?'
Spoiler: They showed, and she nailed it.
From Local Hero to National Spotlight
The app, born from that grandfather's brush with disaster (he sadly passed in January 2025, aware of her project but not its full bloom), quickly turned heads. By November 2024, it snagged an honourable mention in the Congressional App Challenge from US Congressman Keith Self, praising its innovative edge.
AARP came knocking after a Dallas Observer feature, offering feedback and a LinkedIn shoutout.
Tejasvi hit the TEDx stage in Plano, preaching 'digital bridges' for all ages, and earned the Points of Light Daily Point of Light Award for bridging the generational tech gap.
The crowning glory?
In 2025, TIME magazine dubbed her Kid of the Year, hailing her as a 'digital defender' out to forge a safer world for the silver-haired set.
The Future of a Cyber Crusader
Now 17 and eyeing computer science majors at spots like UT Austin or Purdue, Tejasvi's not done yet.
She's fundraising to morph Shield Seniors into a full mobile app, adding deepfake detection and more.
From a scary family tale to a teen-led revolution, Tejasvi Manoj proves that one clever coder can outsmart the scammers -- and inspire a generation to build bridges, not walls, in our wired world.
© 2025