Teens Are More Vulnerable to Phishing Scams
What? According to The Wall Street Journal, 82.9% of teens and young adults have fallen for phishing scams propagated through social media at least once.
So What? The lead author for two recent studies on the subject said, “Young adults use most social media services more than any other age group, which makes them good targets. The issue is that frequent social media use leads to people making quick, instinctive decisions instead of systematically evaluating risks. Rather than scrutinizing a suspicious link, they often simply check if the sender is familiar.”
Now What? Teens can protect themselves against phishing attacks by slowing down and asking themselves why they are receiving a link. Even if it’s sent from someone they know or follow, that account might have been hacked. So if it looks suspicious or odd in any way, they shouldn’t click on it. But they can also verify by messaging the owner of the account through a different app to find out if that person actually sent the link. Additionally, remind your teens that phishing attacks aren’t exclusive to older adults or emails. Social media is a prime location for thieves and other predators to find and hook new targets.
Gender Gap Study Shows the Different Pressures Faced by Teen Boys and Teen Girls
What? A Pew Research survey revealed that 55% of teen girls feel “a great deal” or “fair amount” of pressure to “look good,” compared to only 39% of teen boys. But 43% of teen boys felt pressure to “be physically strong,” compared to just 23% of teen girls.
So What? Although both genders have been equally pushed toward academic pursuits—65% of teen boys and 71% of teen girls feel the need to “get good grades”—pressures focusing on physical traits create a gender gap between adolescents.
Now What? The greatest thing this gender gap reveals is that even with a focus on academic success, teen boys and girls are still vulnerable in the realm of self-esteem, just in different ways. Talk to your teens about what pressures they might be feeling. Reaffirm the traits that make them beautiful and strong from the inside. And if social media seems to be driving any of these appearance-based pressures, consider helping them take an in intentional break from their screens to hit the reset button on the medium’s influence on their self-esteem.
TikTok Will Now Show AMBER Alerts in the US
What? When users go to the For You feed on TikTok, they’ll now see any AMBER Alerts for missing children in their area, says The Verge.
So What? This new feature is in partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. It is part of TikTok’s efforts to make the app safer for children. And it has been successful in getting more eyes on AMBER Alerts. After TikTok began piloting the feature in Texas last year, AMBER Alerts there were viewed about 20 million more times than they had been previously.
Now What? Although this is a positive change for the social media giant, parents should still evaluate TikTok’s pros and cons before allowing their teens to sign up. And if your children are alarmed by the sudden influx of AMBER Alerts on their phones, talk to them about how this affects them. Address any fears that may arise from seeing other kids in your area who have been reported missing. Walk through steps they can take to protect themselves. And discuss how they can help another child they may fear is in danger.
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