Do you ever feel like you can’t stop scrolling on your social media apps? Like you just have to watch the next video, scroll through more photos, read the next post? That’s not a coincidence. Social media companies intentionally design their apps to be addictive. And no one is more vulnerable to those addictive tendencies than children and young people. According to the American Psychological Association, children’s brains go through a fundamental shift when they […]

Social media can be a difficult place for children and teens to navigate. For years, people have raised concerns about the dangers young people face on these platforms, including concerns over privacy, exploitation, and exposure to dangerous or inappropriate content. And many parents have no idea what their children are doing on social media sites and who they are engaging with.  Instagram recently announced that they are taking steps to make their platform safer for […]

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more mainstream and people become more aware of the impact it has on our lives, we will see rippling impacts on every area of our digital lives. This includes impacting your digital footprint– the trail of data and information that you leave on the internet– in both positive and negative ways.  AI relies on data collection for fuel. As a result, the negative impacts of this technology are easy to […]

For anyone who spends time online, it is increasingly difficult to tell the difference between facts and false information. With the rise of AI technology that can create incredibly realistic “deep fakes,” social media sites that struggle with moderation, and malicious actors who benefit from sowing chaos and confusion, even educated adults can struggle to figure out what’s real and what’s not. And with wars, elections, and crises around the world unfolding on our smartphones […]

Breaking It Down is a blog series where we break down Youth Speak Out International’s curriculums week-by-week, exploring the major concepts and activities. This post looks at the lesson for Week Six. After following along with our students for six weeks, we have finally arrived at the final session of the Today’s Digital Citizens curriculum. Across these classes, our students have learned about what it means to be a good digital citizen while creating Public […]