Minister of Education drew attention to viral challenges on social networks

Published at: 19/11/2024 09:00 AM

The Minister of Education, Héctor Rodríguez, warned in a statement about the dangers posed to children and young people by so-called viral challenges on social networks, after learning of the death of two teenagers as a result of this type of activity.

“We cannot forget that our teenagers are highly vulnerable to this type of provocation, and that social networks appear to reward scandalous behavior, limiting the possibility of reflective thinking and the analysis of consequences,” he said in the text, published on his Telegram channel.

Rodríguez asked the authorities to investigate “as quickly as possible” the events that led to the above-mentioned deaths, and also to the recent poisoning of more than 300 people. To managers and teachers, he asked “to be more attentive than ever” to accompany young people; “and families, to supervise and guide their sons/daughters assertively, protect them from the media and ensure adequate family connection”.

“Recent events have left a significant number of people injured. Today, unfortunately, two young people have left this landscape forever; everything indicates that the cause lies in social networks and these challenges that are intended to cause suffering to families,” he said.

In his opinion, this is a situation “that must hurt the whole of society”, and should call for “deep reflection and the search for justice”. “Today, all Venezuelan families must show solidarity and face a problem that we have at home, and that we cannot continue to ignore,” he said.

According to a press release from the Ministry of Education, in recent days, poisoning of about 300 people, including students, teachers and healthcare staff, has been registered in eight schools in different states of the country, related to challenges on social networks, President Nicolás Maduro reported last November 14.

Mazo News Team