If you have school-age kids, please read up on the viral Chromebook Challenge! Social media is spreading this as a fun activity, but it is quite dangerous and costly.
The challenge prompts young people to short-circuit their laptops, using paperclips, tinfoil or other metal objects. By sticking these conductors into the ports of their Chromebooks, they can cause sparks, smoke and an unexpected scene. This challenge makes it all sound like big fun, incentivizing kids to record their traumatized computers and post videos for clicks and views.
But, like past viral trends, this one is dangerous and very problematic. As this stunt is carried out in schools around the country, we see:
- Schools being evacuated when the fire alarm sounds
- People being exposed to toxic fumes from burning lithium batteries
- Children being charged with serious crimes
Talk to Your Kids
A little bit of talk goes a long way. Talk with your kiddos and make sure they don’t do anything risky with their computers. I can imagine even well-behaved kids trying this challenge, simply because they don’t see the consequences that follow. Make sure everyone understands that:
- Laptops have powerful batteries inside that, if they are damaged, can melt and leak acid and start fires
- If a child deliberately damages school property, the parents are probasbly going to be responsible for the repair bill and more
- Arson is usually a felony charge, and no child or parent wants that on their permanent record