Designing an Animated Learning Series on Online Child Safety for Adolescents
SnehAI aur Internet ke Champions
Population Foundation of India
2022
The SnehAI and Internet ke Champions film series
A behaviour-change communication project developed by Girgit Studios for Population Foundation of India's AI-powered platform, SnehAI, translating complex conversations around Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (OCSEA) into engaging, emotionally safe stories for adolescents.
Project Context & Design Scope
SnehAI is an AI-powered chatbot developed by the Population Foundation of India (PFI) to help adolescents access trusted information on sexual and reproductive health, relationships and online safety through conversations, quizzes and multimedia learning experiences.
As part of SnehAI's Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (OCSEA) initiative, Girgit Studios was commissioned to design and produce an animated film series that became one of the platform's learning resources alongside its interactive conversations, quizzes and stories. Together, these components create an engaging ecosystem that encourages adolescents to recognise online risks, make informed decisions and build safer digital behaviours.
While the SnehAI platform, chatbot and mascot were developed by PFI, Girgit Studios led the research, communication strategy, story development, screenplay, character design, visual development and animation for the film series.
Project Context & Roles
 |  |
SnehAI platform & chatbot | OCSEA research & Content strategy |
Existing SnehAI mascot | Story & Character development |
Platform integration & outreach | Storyboarding & Animation |
Music and Sound Design |
The Design Challenge
The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed how adolescents interacted with the digital world. Almost overnight, millions of school-going children were required to attend online classes, socialise and explore the internet with unprecedented independence. While digital access expanded opportunities for learning, it also exposed young people to new risks, including Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (OCSEA)—a subject that remained difficult for families, educators and adolescents to discuss openly.
The challenge was to design a series of stories that could prepare adolescents to navigate these emerging risks without relying on fear, shame or information-heavy messaging. The films needed to simplify complex online safety concepts into engaging, age-appropriate narratives that encouraged awareness, critical thinking and help-seeking behaviours, while integrating seamlessly into the larger SnehAI learning experience.
Rather than creating conventional awareness films, our goal was to design stories that adolescents would trust, relate to and remember—empowering them to recognise unsafe situations, make informed choices and seek support with confidence.
The Film Series
The Interne-T-rap
In the form of a rap song, we introduced the dangers of the internet and at the same time how instead of becoming a trap, the INTERNET can empower you.
The lessons and advice that we had to communicate, we chose to deliver them in a format teenagers could find engaging and interesting. The rap verses were written by our own Swarup Deb. He also composed the melody for the Rap.
Films as Anecdotes
These films were made to show situations and incidents where teens can become vulnerable to online crimes and how they can deal with them
Cyberspace ke sitare shows a bunch of teenage kids compete amongst themselves to become the next Social Media Influencer and while doing so they experience the flip side of that coin - attention on the internet is not always positive.
Pyar, Pics aur Privacy talks about a teenage girl, Richa and her dilemma of whether or not she should share her nudes with her boyfriend Raj, and the pressures and dangers of sharing private photos.
Bully ki Pol Khuli tells the story of Sonu, who unable to handle a NO from his crush, goes down the rabbit hole of Cyber bullying.
Trap in a gift wrap tells the tale of Mona, who thought she found an art admirer of hers. He was an artist himself at grooming.
Gaming Shaming talks about Riyaaz, whotakes the shortcut to win the race of growing up faster and ends up losing...control. The short addresses how children can get caught up in sexual exploitation traps present online.
Breakup ke Baad shows how young people can get caught in revenge pornogrpahy through the story of Sara, who after being dumped by Lucky, burns in her own rage of revenge
Staying safe on the Internet
Through these series of films, we intended to encourage the youth to make make safer more responsible decisions on the internet, and when necessary seek help from Cyber Cells.
In Dil, Dimag aur Virus, the brain and the heart together find the formula to be safe online, talking about possible dangers and how to avoid them.
SnehAI and friends summarise the steps to be safe online, introduce the SnehAI chatbot that can help us beat the villains online by becoming “Champions of the Internet”.
Designing The Film Series
Understanding Adolescents
Every design decision began with understanding the people we were designing for. Before developing the stories, we participated in Chalo Think Karein, an interactive engagement programme with adolescents, and conducted a seminar with parents to better understand their concerns, perceptions and experiences around children's rapidly changing digital lives following the COVID-19 shift to online learning.
These interactions, combined with extensive research into Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (OCSEA) and consultations with child protection experts, revealed recurring patterns of vulnerability, misconceptions and barriers to seeking help. The insights gathered became the foundation for every story, character and visual decision that followed.
Building the Stories
Rather than presenting online safety as a collection of rules and warnings, we built each film around familiar digital experiences that adolescents could immediately recognise. Everyday online interactions became the foundation for emotionally engaging narratives that encouraged young audiences to pause, reflect and make safer choices—without relying on fear-based communication or moralising.
One of the central storytelling devices was the introduction of two original characters—a Heart and a Brain. Adolescence is often characterised by the constant tension between emotions and logic. By personifying this internal dialogue, we transformed invisible thought processes into engaging conversations that were humorous, relatable and memorable. Their interactions helped simplify complex online safety concepts while encouraging adolescents to critically examine their own choices.
We also made a conscious decision to keep SnehAI outside the main storylines. Rather than participating as another character within the narrative, SnehAI appeared at the end of each film to summarise the key learning and guide viewers towards the chatbot. This preserved SnehAI's role as a trusted mentor and ensured a clear distinction between the fictional stories and the real-world support available through the platform.
Designing the Characters
The visual language was carefully aligned with the existing SnehAI mascot, allowing the entire cast to integrate naturally into the larger SnehAI ecosystem. The supporting cast was designed to reflect the diversity and everyday experiences of Indian adolescents.
Our explorations:
Characters used in the film
Alongside them, the Heart and Brain translated the emotional and logical conflicts of adolescence into engaging visual conversations, adding humour and relatability to difficult situations. While creating the head and the heart characters we also kept in mind how we could exaggerate them during animation.
Bringing the Stories to Life
From contemporary homes and classrooms to digital interfaces and online interactions, every environment was designed to feel familiar to adolescents while maintaining a visual language that was warm, optimistic and emotionally safe.
Backgrounds in the films
Storyboards, animatics, voice performances, music and animation then came together to transform research and storytelling into engaging learning experiences that encouraged adolescents to recognise online risks, trust their instincts and seek support with confidence.
Beyond the Screen
While the animated films were conceived as one component of the larger SnehAI ecosystem, their role extended beyond storytelling. Together with the chatbot's conversations, quizzes and interactive content, the films helped create a safe, engaging and non-judgemental learning experience that encouraged adolescents to recognise online risks, make informed decisions and seek support with confidence.
Over time, the SnehAI platform has evolved into one of India's leading AI-powered behaviour change initiatives for adolescent health, well-being and online safety. Since its launch, SnehAI has exchanged over 13 million messages with more than 320,000 adolescents and young people through WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and its voice-enabled platform. The initiative has continually expanded its content and outreach while maintaining its commitment to providing trusted, non-judgemental information on sexual and reproductive health, mental well-being and digital safety.
In 2026, SnehAI was recognised at the Innovation Team Best Practices Awards in Paris, France, presented by the European Institute for Creative Strategies and Innovation, the Sorbonne School of Economics, and the Paris Club of Innovation Directors. The recognition celebrated SnehAI's contribution to responsible AI, inclusive design and collaborative innovation for social impact. We are proud that the 'SnehAI aur Internet ke Champions' film series developed by Girgit Studios continues to form part of this evolving, internationally recognised initiative.
Story and Concept Development: Girgit Studios Pvt.Ltd
Backgrounds: Vango Studios, Artha Animations and Girgit Studios Pvt.Ltd.
Animation : Artha Animations and Off Rule Studios
Script : Shruti Ubgade, Avinash Medhe and Swarup Deb
Voice over: Audio World
Music: Pallav Baruah
Rapper Artist : Jahanvi Sehgal
Credits
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