The retos virales They can captivate teens who already tend to be impulsive and attracted to attention-grabbing behaviors, especially on social media.
Often driven by YouTubers who make them to get views, fame and their consequent financial benefits.
It is common, especially in adolescence, to imitate your references, as well as to try to stand out and be socially accepted. Adolescence is that stage in which one dares to do things that may involve danger or challenge limits to excel. Often these challenges, which for the most part only try to follow a chain to "be fashionable", are a simple game, but in other cases they mean a test of personal limits, involving risks for those who try to imitate them.
Challenges such as "Momo" or "the blue whale", followed by everyone, put on the table the danger that was hidden behind this fashion, since they invited to overcome a series of tests that in some cases induced self-harm and that on two occasions the participants went as far as suicide.
The dissemination and media treatment that echoes these practices can suggest or condition young people at risk, or even encourage their development. That is why, as parents or reference adults of the minor, we must know these practices in order to apply adequate prevention and minimize the negative impact they may have.
Not all retos virales they should be harmful to children and adolescents. Many viral challenges are beneficial to work on team aspects, creativity and artistic expression, combination of physical and digital skills, apart from the entertainment it provides.
Possibly the best way to protect minors is to help them develop their critical capacity. It is important that we help our children develop their ability to reason and contrast information before they accept it as true or harmless.
It is convenient to establish a climate of trust in the home; Generating a fluid dialogue with our children is essential to know what they are doing on the Internet, instead of leaving them alone while they browse the Internet. It is important to carry out an adequate parental mediation of the activity they carry out respecting their privacy, so that they make a safe use and Responsible for new technologies, preventing them from accessing inappropriate content or coming into contact with dangerous communities.
Taking an interest in their tastes and motivations, asking their opinion about the challenges, helps to promote the ability to calculate the risk of what can happen to someone who assumes it. It is important to insist that they do not participate or share these types of challenges, in this way, we will help to prevent their spread from continuing.
It is also advisable to be part of the community of your social networks. This action, which should be previously agreed with the minor, can be very suitable, especially at the beginning in social settings. In this way we can stay informed about your interests, new fashions and the companies you have. It must be borne in mind that in these challenges there may be the possibility of interacting with others, and even with promoters. In this sense, extreme caution must be exercised when revealing information to strangers, since we do not know who is behind it, or with what intentions.
As teens continue to grow, stay informed about their lives, friends, and their place in the world. Remember that their brains continue to develop very rapidly. As parents, you can help foster that growth and help them develop thoughtful and rational thinking skills that will be very important for years to come.
Source:
https://www.cesarlozano.com/cuales-los-peligros-los-retos-virales-internet/
The dangers of viral challenges and the reasons for their appeal. Healthy Children. Website: www.healthychildren.org
Internet Safety: The Danger of Viral Challenges. Sant Joan de Déu, Hospital of Barcelona. Website: faros.hsjdbcn.org
