A Virginia Cooperative Extension specialist and 4-H Youth in Action award winner provide insights on how to have a healthy online experience in an increasingly connected world.
Starting conversations about viral challenges and online safety can be difficult, says Tonya Price, but are just as important as having conversations about other risky behaviors. Photo courtesy of Pexels.Tonya Price. Photo by Tim Skiles for Virginia Tech.Alice Milton. Photo by Tim Skiles for Virginia Tech.
Newswise — Viral challenges have been around almost as long as the internet.
Some, like the ice bucket challenge are good, raising awareness on important issues. But others are not, and can put both youth and their parents at risk.
What makes these viral challenges attractive for youth? How should parents approach the topic of online safety with their children? A Virginia 4-H specialist and a Virginia 4-H’er provide advice on how to do just this.
Tonya Price, Ph.D.
Professor and Virginia Cooperative Extension Specialist, 4-H Youth Development
Why is it important to talk to your kids about the dangers of online viral challenges?
Although conversations such as these can be difficult for parents because they may not know how to approach their children, having open conversations about risky behaviors is critical. Just like with other risky behaviors (underage drinking, smoking/vaping, drug use, etc.), parents can start the conversation by letting their children know that they love them, they will always be there for them, and that their health, safety, and wellbeing is their number one priority. This opens the door for parents to talk with their children about the risks and dangers of such behaviors, and viral challenges are no different. It’s important to have an open line of communication with your children so they know you are aware of these challenges, what the dangers are if they were to participate, and, why they shouldn’t participate and the associated consequences of doing so.
Talking with your children about risky behaviors is a lifelong conversation because new things will always arise. However, having these tough conversations early in life will help your children learn to discern what is a safe challenge or behavior and what is a risky or dangerous one. In turn, they will learn and feel empowered to make positive and safe decisions on their own.
How should you approach the topic with your kids?
Starting these conversations can be difficult, but need to happen sooner rather than later. Some of the online viral challenges that our youth are exposed to are extremely dangerous, like the recent NyQuil Chicken Challenge or the Cinnamon Challenge, where teens challenged each other to eat a spoonful of ground cinnamon in 60 seconds or less, without water. These challenges can pose some serious health risks and our children need to be aware of this. Therefore, when approaching the topic with your child, talk to them about what they like to do online, what videos/sites they enjoy watching, what’s trending, and who they enjoy following. Then, do your research on what they shared and talk with your children about the negative impacts they may have.
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If your children aren’t open to sharing this information, consider monitoring your child’s screen time and their behavior. If after spending time online they seem sad, depressed, or inadequate, talk with them about it and suggest that they take a break from the internet. Also, to more closely monitor what your children are doing and seeing online, consider designating an area within your home for internet time. When your child wants to be online, they must go to that designated area. This allows you to keep a closer eye on what they are doing and seeing, rather than allowing them to be online in the privacy of their bedroom or bathroom and unaware of what they are seeing.
Youth often feel pressured to “fit in” and perform for likes when on social media. Keeping the lines of communication open and letting them know that their value and worth is not associated with how many likes they get can help alleviate some of these pressures as well.
What are some of the challenges that parents deal with regarding viral challenges?
The biggest challenge that parents face is simply not being aware of the challenges that are trending. To combat this, have a calm and non-judgmental conversation with your child by asking them about the challenges they are aware of and their thoughts regarding them. Knowing how they feel will help with discussing and determining what is safe and what isn’t. In addition, be sure to “friend” your child and their friends on their preferred social media platforms.
If your child pushes back on this, remind them that if you are the one who pays for the phone and wireless network service, they have to friend you in exchange. Being their “friend” on social media can provide you with insight on the activities they are involved in and what’s going on in their everyday life. Furthermore, teens may be more willing to talk about others than themselves, so ask them some direct questions about the trends, fads, and activities their friends are in to. You may find out more about your own child, if you ask questions about their friends, than you will if you ask questions about themselves.
What should a parent do if they think their child/children are participating in a challenge, but unsure?
If you suspect that your child might be participating in a challenge or is interested in one, talk to them. Discuss the challenge you think they may be participating in and the pros and cons of doing so. Have them consider the worst possible outcome and if their participation in the challenge is worth it. Ask direct questions, such as is a trip to the ER worth the likes or views you may receive?
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Alice Milton
4-H’er and Youth in Action award winner, healthy living and overall
As a youth, what do you see as the dangers of online viral challenges?
So many viral challenges cycling through the internet have been shown as dangerous to those who participate. For instance, the salt and ice challenge can leave chemical burns or permanent nerve damage. Within the past decade, the amount of youth engaged in social media has skyrocketed. From there, youth have developed a dependency on being active and relevant on social media. Adolescence is a very crucial time in psychological development, as it is characterized by the growth and maturity of the brain. Because the frontal lobe of the brain is not fully mature, decision-making can become compromised. Social media has so much influence on the minds of youth, and they become more susceptible to trying dangerous viral challenges because others are participating.
What are some of the challenges that youth face with these viral challenges from these constantly connected environments?
As much as youth are connected to electronics, they consistently view viral challenges. Seeing a celebrity or peer participate in a dangerous viral challenge can have a significant impact on youth and lead to imitation behavior. This can be due to various reasons such as peer pressure, the desire to fit in or be part of a trend, and the belief that if someone famous or well-known is doing it, it must be safe. However, it is important to understand that just because something is popular or trendy does not mean it is safe or appropriate. It is crucial for individuals, especially young people, to critically evaluate the risks and consequences before participating in any challenge or activity.
What advice do you have for youth to get a sense of belonging and community in a healthy manner?
While viral challenges can promote an unhealthy sense of community, other activities can have a contrasting effect. Organizations like 4-H, FFA, and FCCLA cultivate a large community of diverse young leaders. Within an organization such as this, youth can discover their passions and congregate with new friends. Communities found in youth organizations focus on empowering youth to grow and thrive.
From my experiences within 4-H, I have been able to develop my public speaking, leadership, and advocacy. Youth organizations can promote a healthy sense of community by providing a supportive and inclusive environment. Youth organizations can help young people feel like they are part of a community by promoting inclusiveness and celebrating the differences that make each individual unique, youth organizations can help build a group that promotes understanding and respect.
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Groups such as 4-H also encourage collaboration by means of group activities, events, and projects. Youth organizations can provide opportunities for young people to participate in community service projects and events, helping them understand the importance of giving back and promoting a sense of responsibility for the community.
How can youth know the difference between bad viral challenges versus positive ones?
When deciding whether or not to participate in a viral challenge, keep these questions in mind:
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Mississippi’s reforms have led to significant gains in reading and math, despite the state being one of the lowest spenders per pupil in the U.S. Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images
As of 2023, the state ranks among the top 20 for fourth grade reading, a significant leap from its 49th-place ranking in 2013. This transformation was driven by evidence-based policy reforms focused on early literacy and teacher development.
The rest of the country might want to take note.
That’s because Mississippi’s success offers a proven solution to the reading literacy crisis facing many states – a clear road map for closing early literacy gaps and improving reading outcomes nationwide.
When students struggle, their academic performance declines. And that leads to lower test scores. Research shows that these declining scores are closely linked to reduced economic growth, as a less educated workforce hampers productivity and innovation.
The Mississippi approach
In 2013, Mississippi implemented a multifaceted strategy for enhancing kindergarten to third grade literacy. The Literacy-Based Promotion Act focuses on early literacy and teacher development. It includes teacher training in proven reading instruction methods and teacher coaching.
It includes provisions for reading coaches, parent communication, individual reading plans and other supportive measures. It also includes targeted support for struggling readers. Students repeat the third grade if they fail to meet reading standards.
The state also aligned its test to the NAEP, or National Assessment of Educational Progress, something which not all states do. Often referred to as “The Nation’s Report Card,” the NAEP is a nationwide assessment that measures student performance in various subjects.
Mississippi’s reforms have led to significant gains in reading and math, with fourth graders improving on national assessments.
I believe this is extremely important. That’s because early reading is a foundational skill that helps develop the ability to read at grade level by the end of third grade. It also leads to general academic success, graduating from high school prepared for college, and becoming productive adults less likely to fall into poverty.
Research by Noah Spencer, an economics doctoral student at the University of Toronto, shows that the Mississippi law boosted scores.
Students exposed to it from kindergarten to the third grade gained a 0.25 standard deviation improvement in reading scores. That is roughly equivalent to one year of academic progress in reading, according to educational benchmarks. This gain reflects significant strides in students’ literacy development over the course of a school year.
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Another study has found an even greater impact attributed to grade retention in the third grade – it led to a huge increase in learning in English Language Arts by the sixth grade.
But the Mississippi law is not just about retention. Spencer found that grade retention explains only about 22% of the treatment effect. The rest is presumably due to the other components of the measure – namely, teacher training and coaching.
These changes were achieved despite Mississippi being one of the lowest spenders per pupil in the U.S., proving that strategic investments in teacher development and early literacy can yield impressive results even with limited resources.
Mississippi’s early literacy interventions show lasting impact and offer a potential solution for other regions facing similar challenges.
In 2024, only 31% of U.S. fourth grade students were proficient or above in reading, according to the NAEP, while 40% were below basic. Reading scores for fourth and eighth graders also dropped by five points compared with 2019, with averages lower than any year since 2005.
In 2013, Mississippi ranked 49th in fourth grade reading scores. Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images
Mississippi’s literacy program provides a learning gain equal to a year of schooling. The program costs US$15 million annually – 0.2% of the state budget in 2023 – and $32 per student.
Based on typical high school graduate earnings, the average student can expect to earn an extra $1,000 per year for the rest of their life.
That is, for every dollar Mississippi spends, the state gains about $32 in additional lifetime earnings, offering substantial long-term economic benefits compared with the initial cost.
The Mississippi literacy project focuses on teaching at the right level, which focuses on assessing children’s actual learning levels and then tailoring instruction to meet them, rather than strictly following age- or grade-level curriculum.
Students ask questions during a social studies class on American politics.
AP Photo/John MinchilloLightning Jay, Binghamton University, State University of New York
Can you tell fact from fiction online? In a digital world, few questions are more important or more challenging.
For years, some commentators have called for K-12 teachers to take on fake news, media literacy, or online misinformation by doubling downon critical thinking. This push for schools to do a better job preparing young people to differentiate between low- and high-quality information often focuses on social studies classes.
As an education researcher and former high school history teacher, I know that there’s both good and bad news about combating misinformation in the classroom. History class can cultivate critical thinking – but only if teachers and schools understand what critical thinking really means.
Not just a ‘skill’
First, the bad news.
When people demand that schools teach critical thinking, it’s not always clear what they mean. Some might consider critical thinking a trait or capacity that teachers can encourage, like creativity or grit. They could believe that critical thinking is a mindset: a habit of being curious, skeptical and reflective. Or they might be referring to specific skills – for instance, that students should learn a set of steps to take to assess information online.
Unfortunately, cognitive science research has shown that critical thinking is not an abstract quality or practice that can be developed on its own. Cognitive scientists see critical thinking as a specific kind of reasoning that involves problem-solving and making sound judgments. It can be learned, but it relies on specific content knowledge and does not necessarily transfer between fields.
Early studies on chess playersand physicists in the 1970s and ’80s helped show how the kind of flexible and reflective cognition often called critical thinking is really a product of expertise. Chess masters, for instance, do not start out with innate talent. In most cases, they gain expertise by hours of thoughtfully playing the game. This deliberate practice helps them recognize patterns and think in novel ways about chess. Chess masters’ critical thinking is a product of learning, not a precursor.
Nurman Alua of Kazakhstan, left, and Lee Alice of the U.S. during the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary, on Sept. 22, 2024.AP Photo/Denes Erdos
Because critical thinking develops in specific contexts, it does not necessarily transfer to other types of problem-solving. For example, chess advocates might hope the game improves players’ intelligence, and studies do suggest learning chess may help elementary students with the kind of pattern recognition they need for early math lessons. However, research has found that being a great chess player does not make people better at other kinds of complex critical thinking.
Historical thinking
Since context is key to critical thinking, learning to analyze information about current events likely requires knowledge about politics and history, as well as practice at scrutinizing sources. Fortunately, that is what social studies classes are for.
Social studies researchers often describe this kind of critical thinking as “historical thinking”: a way to evaluate evidence about the past and assess its reliability. My own research has shown that high school students can make relatively quick progress on some of the surface features of historical thinking, such as learning to check a text’s date and author. But the deep questioning involved in true historical thinking is much harder to learn.
Social studies classrooms can also build what researchers call “civic online reasoning.” Fact-checking is complex work. It is not enough to tell young people that they should be wary online, or to trust sites that end in “.org” instead of “.com.” Rather than learning general principles about online media, civic online reasoning teaches students specific skills for evaluating information about politics and social issues.
Still, learning to think like a historian does not necessarily prepare someone to be a skeptical news consumer. Indeed, a recent study found that professional historians performed worse than professional fact-checkers at identifying online misinformation. The misinformation tasks the historians struggled with focused on issues such as bullying or the minimum wage – areas where they possessed little expertise.
Powerful knowledge
That’s where background knowledge comes in – and the good news is that social studies can build it. All literacy relies on what readers already know. For people wading through political information and news, knowledge about history and civics is like a key in the ignition for their analytical skills.
Readers without much historical knowledge may miss clues that something isn’t right – signs that they need to scrutinize the source more closely. Political misinformation often weaponizes historical falsehoods, such as the debunked and recalled Christian nationalist book claiming that Thomas Jefferson did not believe in a separation of church and state, or claims that the nadir of African American life came during Reconstruction, not slavery. Those claims are extreme, but politicians and policymakers repeat them.
For someone who knows basic facts about American history, those claims won’t sit right. Background knowledge will trigger their skepticism and kick critical thinking into gear.
A teacher in North Carolina conducts a lesson about the D-Day invasion of Normandy in an Advanced Placement class.AP Photo/Gerry Broome
Past, present, future
For this reason, the best approach to media literacy will come through teaching that fosters concrete skills alongside historical knowledge. In short, the new knowledge crisis points to the importance of the traditional social studies classroom.
But it’s a tenuous moment for history education. The Bush- and Obama-era emphasis on math and English testing resulted in decreased instructional time in history classes, particularly in elementary and middle schools. In one 2005 study, 27% of schools reported reducing social studies time in favor of subjects on state exams.
Now, history teachers are feeling heat from politically motivated culture wars over education that target teaching about racism and LGBTQ+ issues and that ban books from libraries and classrooms. Two-thirds of instructors say that they’ve limited classroom discussions about social and political topics.
Attempts to limit students’ knowledge about the past imperil their chances of being able to think critically about new information. These attacks are not just assaults on the history of the country; they are attempts to control its future.
Lightning Jay, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Learning and Educational Leadership, Binghamton University, State University of New York
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
(Family Features) Financial literacy is a critical skill that helps set the foundation for a stable and prosperous future. By understanding the basics of money management, teens can make informed decisions and avoid common financial pitfalls.
According to the annual Teens and Personal Finance survey, a study of teens ages 13-18 conducted by Wakefield Research on behalf of Junior Achievement and MissionSquare Retirement’s Foundation, 45% of high schoolers took a personal finance or financial literacy class at school. This is up from 31% in 2024, indicating the nation’s youth are interested in building a strong financial foundation. What’s more, of the students who took their school’s curriculum, 64% found it extremely or very helpful, yet despite this increase, data reveals knowledge gaps remain. In fact, 42% of teens surveyed are terrified they won’t have enough money to cover their future needs and goals.
“There is so much for teens to absorb when learning about finances and planning for their future, they often struggle to envision what lies ahead,” said Andre Robinson, president and CEO of MissionSquare Retirement. “Offering engaging programs that can boost financial knowledge and decision-making skills can only help to inspire young individuals to build a strong foundation of lifelong financial resilience.”
Consider discussing these economic topics with your teen to help make a positive impact on students’ financial readiness and get them ready for financial decisions they’ll face in adulthood.
Mastering Saving and Budgeting
A good starting point for teens is to create a simple budget that tracks income and expenses. Because only 36% of teens surveyed save a part for their futures when they receive money, this can help them understand where money is going and identify areas they may be able to save for the future. This is particularly important considering 68% of teens agree that saving for retirement is something they can think about later in life.
Understanding Credit
Credit is a powerful tool but can also be a source of financial trouble if not managed properly. It’s essential to understand how financial behaviors, like paying bills on time and keeping credit card balances low, impact their credit scores. A higher FICO score, which 80% of teens surveyed had never heard of or did not fully understand, can lead to better interest rates and more favorable loan terms.
Managing Common Debt Pitfalls
According to the survey, 43% of teens believe an interest rate of 18% on debt is manageable and can be paid off over time. However, it’s important to understand the true cost of debt and how interest rates can accumulate over time and lead to significant financial strain. Establishing good debt management habits early, such as avoiding high-interest debt and paying off balances quickly, can lead to a healthier financial future.
Investing and Planning Ahead
According to the survey, teenagers’ most appealing investing strategies are savings accounts, side hustles and keeping cash at home, and only 13% invest a portion of their money. Encouraging teens to learn about different types of investments, such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds, can help them make informed decisions and begin to build long-term wealth.
For more information on how to help teens improve their financial knowledge, visit ja.org.
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock
SOURCE:Junior Achievement
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(Family Features) Financial literacy is a critical skill that helps set the foundation for a stable and prosperous future. By understanding the basics of money management, teens can make informed decisions and avoid common financial pitfalls.
According to the 
