General election presidential debates offer valuable, high-profile opportunitiesy for parents to talk with teens and young adults about the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, but few parents take advantage of them. Nationally representative surveys by the Annenberg Public Policy Center show that while most parents or guardians of teens or young adults watched or listened to at least parts of the debates, less than 1 in 5 did so with a teen or young adult in their household or talked with them about the debate.

Research findings provide further evidence that early childhood education can improve educational outcomes for low-income Black children, but that subsequent experiences may erode those impacts especially for low-income Black males.

When X (formerly Twitter) changed its verification system in 2022, many foresaw its potential to impact the spread of political opinions on the platform. In a modeling study publishing October 22 in the Cell Press journal iScience, researchers show that having verified users whose posts are prioritized by the platform’s algorithms can result in increased polarization and trigger the formation of echo chambers. Because X’s new verification system allows almost anybody to become verified, this side effect could be taken advantage of by users wishing to manipulate others’ opinions, the researchers say.