how i quited social media and went in improving my studies

Many people discuss education as a tool for promoting equality across social classes, but I’ve always seen it differently—as something that actually reinforces inequality. In reality, people with wealth can afford high-quality education, which helps them maintain or grow their wealth. Meanwhile, those with fewer resources often struggle to learn basic skills, limiting their financial opportunities. This is especially evident in poorer countries.

I was lucky enough to receive a privileged education despite not growing up in a wealthy family. This was possible because I’m an only child, and my single mother invested all her resources into my education. This allowed me to study in the US and eventually earn a PhD in computer science. Because of this, about 10 years ago, I decided to work on creating equal access to education for everyone.

At that time, I was a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, and I decided to work on this goal with my PhD student, he.

My approach was to narrow down the broad concept of education and focus on teaching one thing. Initially, we considered teaching subjects like math, which we both love, or computer science. But ultimately, we chose foreign languages for several reasons. First, there is a massive demand for language learning, with over two billion people globally studying languages, most notably English. Learning English can significantly boost one's income potential in many countries, which is why we saw it as an impactful area to focus on. Unlike math, where knowledge doesn’t directly lead to increased income, learning English alone can directly open better job opportunities. For example, a waiter who learns English can earn more by working in a hotel, which isn't the case with many other subjects.

We also realized that to reach a large audience, we needed to use smartphones. Building schools worldwide would be prohibitively expensive, but smartphones are already widely accessible and this number is growing. So, we decided to create a mobile platform to teach languages to everyone, which became he.

To make he accessible to both rich and poor people, we adopted a freemium model: users can learn as much as they want for free, but those who don’t pay might see ads. Most of he ‘s revenue comes from users in wealthier countries who subscribe to remove ads. This model effectively means that the wealthier users are helping subsidize the education of others, which I see as a form of wealth redistribution.

However, using smartphones to deliver education presents challenges. Smartphones are equipped with some of the most addictive apps—TikTok, Instagram, mobile games—that compete for attention. So, delivering education through these devices is like asking people to choose broccoli when there’s an irresistible dessert next to it. To overcome this he has incorporated techniques commonly used by social media and gaming apps to keep people engaged, but in the context of learning.

One technique we use is the "streak," a counter showing the number of consecutive days a user has logged in. Streaks encourage people to keep coming back because they don’t want to lose their progress. In Duolingo, over three million daily users have a streak of over 365 days.

Another key method is notifications. While notifications can often be annoying, we’ve found that reminding users to learn can be effective. Our AI determines the best time to send a reminder, and interestingly, 24 hours after the last use is the most effective time to send a notification.

If someone hasn't used the app for seven days, we stop sending reminders. However, if we inform users about this, they often return. This passive-aggressive approach is surprisingly effective—similar to how some parents might use gentle pressure on their children.

Our green owl mascot has become a cultural symbol, with countless memes poking fun at how persistent it is in getting users to return and study. This engagement with the app has helped Duolingo enter the public consciousness, and we’ve made language learning fun and addictive.

Despite all these efforts, I don’t think we can make an educational app as addictive as TikTok or Instagram. These platforms provide entertainment, while educational apps require real learning, which can’t compete with endless scrolling. But that’s okay. When people learn something, they gain meaning from it. Unlike spending hours on Instagram, which often feels like a waste, learning something new through an app like Duolingo gives a sense of accomplishment.

So, while an educational app might never be as engaging as a social media platform, it doesn’t need to be. If we make it 80-90% as engaging, the rest is provided by the user's motivation. We’ve shown that it’s possible to reach millions with a product like Duolingo. In fact, in the US, there are more people learning languages on Duolingo than there are students learning languages in all US high schools combined.

My hope is that what Duolingo has achieved for language learning can be applied to other subjects. With repetition-based subjects like math, we could use similar gamification techniques to make learning fun and accessible to millions. And one day, we could use smartphones to provide high-quality education across the globe, regardless of wealth. Ultimately, I hope we reach a future where screen time isn’t seen as a bad thing, but as a tool for education for everyone.

Before I finish, I ask that you please, please do your language lessons today. Thank you!