Fun digital ways to enjoy the Winter Olympics with your family

February 13, 2018 Common Sense Media

The Winter Olympics are in full swing, and I hope you’ve had a chance to watch some of the events with your family. For more great ways to get involved and participate from home, digital tools like Twitter, Snapchat, and YouTube make the Games more interactive than ever. As always, be sure to establish rules around social media use before you get started. — Jennifer Ehehalt, Pittsburgh Regional Manager at Common Sense Media. Common Sense has the largest, most trusted library of independent, age-based, and educational ratings and reviews for movies, games, apps, TV shows, websites, and books. Jennifer’s passion is to help families make smart media choices. You can find her on Twitter @Jehehalt.

By Frannie Ucciferri

Common Sense Media 

This year it’s easier than ever for kids and families to follow along with the Winter Olympics, all without traveling to Pyeongchang. Fans can use apps like Snapchat, YouTube, and Facebook to skate, ski, sled, and even sweep (you’re welcome, curling buffs) alongside their favorite athletes. The Olympics are also a great way to talk to kids about sportsmanship, perseverance, and teamwork — as well as social media benefits and boundaries. The Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, run through the Closing Ceremony on Feb. 25. There’s a lot going on, so we’ve rounded up some of our favorite digital ways to experience the action and turn the Winter Games into a fun learning experience for the whole family.

The Official Olympics Hubs
A great place to start is with the official Olympics website and app. There you’ll find a mountain of resources, including news, results, Olympic history, and descriptions of all the sports. That way you’ll never be confused about the difference between figure skating and ice dancing again.

Meet the Mascots
Every Olympics, the host nation comes up with a cute animated character to represent the spirit and location of that year’s games. This year, Korea introduced us to Soohorang and Bandabi, an adorable white tiger and Asiatic black bear.

Subscribe to the ShibSibs
Sibling ice-dancing duo Alex and Maia Shibutani are not only national champions, they’re also active vloggers on YouTube. The “ShibSibs,” as they’re known online, give a playful, approachable look behind the scenes of what it’s really like to be an Olympic athlete.

View It in VR 
For the first time ever, NBC Olympics is offering more than 50 hours of live Olympics coverage in virtual reality. Although you’ll need a VR headset for the full experience, you can download the app for 360-degree videos on your smartphone or Google Cardboard capabilities.

Up-to-the-Minute Snapchat Updates
NBC Olympics and BuzzFeed have teamed up to offer exclusive clips and coverage of athletes, events, and more as one of the “Publisher Stories” on the Snapchat Discover page. Snapchat will also be offering its usual user-submitted “Our Stories” feature for the Pyeongchang Games on the Discover page, which is made up of curated posts from Snapchatters who are attending the events live, as well as the athletes themselves.

  • Visit Snapchat Discover (reach it by swiping left from the camera screen in the Snapchat app).

Follow the Fashion
If your kids are more into clothes than sports, there are still plenty of ways to engage with the Winter Games. From high-tech heating to sequined costumes to wild curling pants, there’s plenty to talk about — and maybe inspire young designers to get creative.

Listen and Learn
If you love podcasts, we’ve found some great options that will give you answers to questions you didn’t even know you had about the Olympics, such as, “When did snowboarding become a sport?” or “Who are the athletes to watch?” or “What do former figure skaters Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir talk about when they’re not commentating?” (Learn how to get into podcasts.)

Interact with the Athletes
Many of the athletes competing in the games are active on social media. Following your favorite athletes can be a fun way to get to know them. Make sure to establish rules around social media use. Some of our faves:

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