Junior Detectives · Mission 6 of 6
Chain messages and scary challenges
Find out why you don’t have to forward a chain message – and who to tell.
about 6 minutesStart with the → key or the space bar.
💬Case no. 6: The bad-luck message
In the evening, Emma gets a message from a classmate:
‘Send this to 10 friends before midnight. Or you’ll have bad luck all year!’
Emma’s tummy tightens. What if it’s true? Should she send it on?
Emma goes to Grandpa Karl and shows him.
‘I’m glad you came,’ says Grandpa. ‘Let’s look at it together.’
Why chain messages go round
Someone made up the chain message. They want it to spread as far as possible.
So it threatens bad luck or promises good luck. But the message has no power. It doesn’t know if you send it. If you don’t, nothing happens.
You can just delete it. And don’t send it on, so you don’t scare your friends.
A scary message or challenge
Sometimes a message or a video arrives that scares you. Or a ‘challenge’ that you’re supposed to do.
What to do:
- Don’t do it and don’t send it on.
- Tell an adult you trust. You don’t need to be scared or ashamed.
- Can’t talk to anyone at home? Call a child helpline: 116 111 in most European countries. It’s free.
It’s not your fault if you get something like this.
Game: Chain message or real message? · Message 1 of 2
Read the message. Tap the sentences that are trying to trick you. But one message is fine.
A forwarded message in the class group chat
WARNING!!! Send this to 10 friends before midnight. Or you’ll have bad luck all year! If you don’t send it, you don’t like me.
Marked: 0 · After the discussion, click the places the class agrees on. Then show the analysis.
Game: Chain message or real message? · Message 2 of 2
Read the message. Tap the sentences that are trying to trick you. But one message is fine.
A message from Ms Rossi, the class teacher, in the class group chat
Dear children, a bad-luck message is going round the class. You don’t have to send it on. Nothing will happen. If anything scared you, tell someone at home or tell me.
Marked: 0 · After the discussion, click the places the class agrees on. Then show the analysis.
Quiz: What to do with a chain message? · Question 1 of 3
A message says: ‘Send this on, or you’ll have bad luck.’ Is that true?
Click the answer the class decides on. Then show the right one.
Quiz: What to do with a chain message? · Question 2 of 3
You get a message that scares you. What do you do?
Click the answer the class decides on. Then show the right one.
Quiz: What to do with a chain message? · Question 3 of 3
A friend writes about a ‘challenge’. They say you have to do it. What’s right?
Click the answer the class decides on. Then show the right one.
Detective rule
- ◆A chain message has no power. Nothing will happen.
- ◆Don’t send it on. You can just delete it.
- ◆Did a message scare you? Tell an adult you trust.
- ◆Child helpline: 116 111 in most European countries. It’s free.
💬Let's talk
- 1Who can you tell about a strange message when I’m not home?
- 2What will you say to a friend who sends you a chain message?
- 3Shall we write a list of people you trust together?
Tip for the teacher
Tell your child you won’t be cross about a scary message. Don’t mention specific ‘challenges’ by name or look them up together – experts say this is more likely to make children curious. For advice, contact the Safer Internet Centre in your country – they typically run a helpline. The EU’s Better Internet for Kids portal lists them.
✓ Mission complete!
At home, children can play it again – with their parents, for example. Free and without an account.
thinkcritical.eu/