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Millennials Connect Via Social Media Challenges During COVID-19
Bingo is back, this time among millennials and Gen Zers.
To stave off boredom caused by the coronavirus quarantine and connect with others, millions of global millennials and Gen Zers are issuing challenges to each other on social media.
Challenges have gotten so popular that social media giant Instagram added a “challenge” story sticker to make it easier for users to create their own or nominate others.
Challenges and tags flooding social media range from drawing random oranges and tagging friends, to perfecting 15-second dances on TikTok to keep people busy, connected and entertained.
Here are some of the biggest social media trends and challenges that have gone viral.
Bingo
People are making bingos about everything, whether it’s a university, zodiac sign or ethnicity. Bingo questions usually follow a “never have I ever” format that users cross off until they eliminate all the spaces on a card to make bingo. Users tag friends and post to their social media. This classic game -- which started in the 1500s in Italy -- has been sweeping social media sites and bonding friends over shared interests and activities.
TikTok dance challenges
The video-sharing social media app TikTok has dominated the social media charts with an increase in the number of downloads since the coronavirus pandemic. A popular trend among young people is learning TikTok dances, usually 15-second choreographies around a popular song.
Celebrities and social media influencers are among users practicing dances and posting their finished product online. Some are getting family members to dance, too.
In GIFs tag
Introducing oneself or one’s interests through GIFs is another popular trend on Instagram. The template comes in several formats, such as “this or that” or “my favorite things.” Once tagged, users post GIF stickers on Instagram and tag others.
Dalgona coffee challenge
Dalgona, also known as ppopgi, is candy from South Korea. Made of sugar, corn syrup and baking soda, dalgona has been a popular street food snack for children since the 1960s.
Fast forward to 2020, the Dalgona coffee challenge has gained attention across the world: make whipped coffee with equal ratios of sugar, instant coffee and boiling water. While it may sound easy, it can be quite the arm workout because the Dalgona cream has to be whipped for quite a long time to get it foamy.
Song challenges
Users share their favorite songs and grow their playlist, using cues for users to post their favorite song around a specific theme or topic.
Workout challenges
The rules are simple: Film yourself doing 10 or more pushups and tag as many people as you want to challenge them to do the same. The first was the #see10do10 pushup challenge.
Workout challenges include the plank challenge, the 100 skipping challenge and the flex challenge. With everyone being stuck at home during quarantine, these workout challenges have motivated people to keep moving while at home.
Until tomorrow challenge
The Until Tomorrow challenges users to post funny, embarrassing or awkward photos of themselves on their Instagram feed for 24 hours. (Users are automatically tagged when they tag a photo with the hashtag #untiltomorrow.)
Drawing challenge
Users draw digital paintings of random objects on Instagram and tag their friends to continue the chain.
Toilet paper challenge
This challenge is popular among pet owners, seeing how many stacks of toilet paper a pet can jump over, leaping over several stacks or sometimes crashing through a wall of toilet paper.
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FAFSA Delays Prompt California to Extend Deadline for Financial Aid Applications
The California Legislature on Thursday voted to give prospective college students more time to apply for two of the state's largest financial aid programs after a glitch in the federal government's application system threatened to block up to 100,000 people from getting help.
California had already extended the deadline for its financial aid programs from March 2 to April 2. On Thursday, the state Senate gave final approval to a bill that would extend it again until May 2. The bill now heads to Governor Gavin Newsom.
"Clearly, our students need our help," Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes, a Democrat from Riverside who authored the bill, told lawmakers during a public hearing earlier this week.
California has multiple programs to help people pay for college. The biggest is the Cal Grant program, which gives money to people who meet certain income requirements. The state also has a Middle Class Scholarship for people with slightly higher incomes.
Students can apply for these state aid programs only if they first complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly known as FAFSA.
This year, a computer glitch prevented parents from filling out the form if they did not have a Social Security number. That meant many students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents but whose parents are not were blocked from completing the form and thus could not apply for California's aid programs.
California has a large population of adults who are living in the country without legal permission. The California Student Aid Commission, the state agency in charge of California's financial aid programs, estimates as many as 100,000 students could be affected by this glitch.
The U.S. Department of Education says it fixed the problem last week, but those families are now a step behind. Democrats in Congress raised alarms last month, noting that the delay could particularly hurt students in states where financial aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, including Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Oregon and Texas.
Advocates fear that the chaos of this year's process could deter students from going to college at all, especially those for whom finances are a key part of the decision.
The computer glitch is just one part of larger problems affecting FAFSA.
The notoriously time-consuming form was overhauled in 2020 through a bipartisan bill in Congress. It promised to simplify the form, going from 100 questions to fewer than 40, and it also changed the underlying formula for student aid, promising to expand it to more low-income students.
But the update has been marred by delays, leaving families across the country in limbo as they figure out how much college will cost.
The form is typically available to fill out in October, but the Education Department didn't have it ready until late December. Even then, the agency wasn't ready to begin processing the forms and sending them to states and colleges, which only started to happen this month.
The problems appear to have already reduced California's application numbers. Through March 8, the number of California students who had completed FAFSA was 43% lower than it was at the same time last year.
"The data most concerning me seems to suggest that these drops are more acute at the schools that serve low-income students or large populations of students of color," Jake Brymner, deputy chief of policy and public affairs for the California Student Aid Commission, told lawmakers in a public hearing earlier this week.
The issue has caused problems for colleges and universities, too. The University of California and California State University systems both delayed their admissions deadlines because so many prospective students were having trouble with FAFSA.