Lesson Aim Target audience: 11-14 year olds This lesson aims to explore the influence and pressure that the online world can have on the lives of young people, and asks them to reflect on ways to respond to this pressure and create more positive online connections. Lesson Objectives To reflect on how the online world can influence and put pressure on us To consider how we can respond to different online pressures To explore ways we can create more positive connections and share respect online Timing: 60 minutes Preparation Print appendix 1 for either individual use or small groups (2-3 young people) Print appendix 2 for either individual use or small groups (2-3 young people) Print appendix 3 for each small groups (2-3 young people) Resources Board and appendix Key Vocabulary: Influence, pressure, dilemma, positive, connect, respond Activity Title Starter Online influence: where does it come from? (Discussion) Reflecting on how the online world can influence how we feel about ourselves, our lives and our relationships 10 minutes Whole class Activity 1 Are you easily influenced? (Quiz) A quiz to consider how much of an influence the online world has on you 10 minutes Individual Activity 2 Under pressure (Discussion) Considering how online influence can easily become pressure to conform, and exploring ways of responding to this 15 minutes Pairs or small group Activity 3 Digital Dilemmas (Scenarios) Considering what should happen next in online dilemmas and what advice you would give to someone facing them 15 minutes Pairs or small group Plenary Creating more positive online connections (Discussion) Exploring ways to share respect online and create positive connections online with others 10 minutes Whole class Extension Suggested extension activities 1. 7 day smartphone challenge 2. Decision tree Digital dilemmas: what shall I do? Extension time
Lesson Plan Target audience: 11-14 year olds Starter Online influence: where does it come from? (Discussion) Ask young people to consider what influences people online; exploring the messages, comments and content they see online. 1. Write Online influence on the board and ask for any words, phrases, hashtags, photo crazes etc they can think of. Eg #goals, likes, gaining followers, YouTubers, trending topics etc. 2. Record their chosen examples on the board as a thought shower or use an online word cloud generator. 3. Ask the group to point out which examples have a positive influence and consider why they are more positive than others? 4. Consider as a group whether the same word cloud could reflect online influences for both males and females. Which examples would be just for male and which for female? Suggested follow on discussion: Which gender has a harder time online? Why? Where does the pressure to look good online come from? (Friends, celebrities, online companies, adverts etc). What has greater impact on how we feel online - pictures we see or comments we receive? Activity 1 Are you easily influenced? (Quiz) This activity asks young people to consider how much of an influence the online world has on them and the decisions they make online. Each young person is to complete a quiz (Appendix 1) either individually or in small groups/pairs. After they have completed the quiz, young people can use the scoring grid at the bottom of Appendix 1 to go through the points for each question. They can then use their overall score to determine how much of an influence the online world is having on them, and receive advice for handling this pressure. Suggested follow on discussion: Discuss as a group what you could do to tackle online influences and lower your overall score. Possible ideas could be: Talk to someone if something is worrying you Try to avoid comparing your number of likes/ followers to other people s Be a critical thinker when it comes to online information and the images you see not everything is as it seems online! Remember just because you have been tagged in an online challenge it doesn t mean you have to do it!
6 February 2018 Lesson Plan Target audience: 11-14 year olds Activity 2 Under pressure (Discussion) This activity is all about asking young people to consider how we can respond to online pressure. Begin by asking the young people to consider the following question in small groups; Is online influence a positive or negative thing? Feedback as a group and explain to them that being influenced by something can be both positive and negative, e.g. Positive influenced by a healthy eating post to make a sensible lunch choice Negative influenced by YouTube dares to take part in something risky Where online influence becomes a negative thing it can develop into pressure to conform or act a certain way online. In small groups or pairs, ask the young people to complete Appendix 2 by filling in examples of online pressure and their own response to it. An example has been given, along with some suggested pressures. Activity 3 Digital Dilemmas (Scenarios) This activity asks young people to reflect on the pressure we face online and consider what you can do next when faced with a digital dilemma. In pairs or small groups hand out copies of Appendix 3. You may wish to give out one example per group for them to feedback on, or allow time for each group to reflect on all 4 scenarios. Feedback on each scenario and ask young people to identify the pressure shown and the advice they would give to someone in this situation. Scenario overview: 1 This example shows someone who is about to delete an image they have posted which has received no likes. Someone may feel pressure to receive a certain amount of likes in order to keep a picture. Reassure the group that likes shouldn t be a measure of popularity and some people may still like your picture without actually pressing the button to show this. 2 This example shows that the most used apps are social media ones. An increased amount of time spent on social media and exposure to online pressures might have a negative impact on someone. Remind young people to talk to someone (friends, family or teachers) if something or someone ever worries or upsets them online. 3 This example shows someone about to reply to a jokey comment that someone has left on their post. Sometimes it s not just the content we see online but also the contact we receive which can add to the pressure on us. Explain to the group that jokes aren t always obvious online and one person s humour may impact on someone else. Again remind them to talk to someone if they ever receive a message like this. It could be asking a friend to explain what they meant or asking an adult for help. 4 This example shows a post on your news feed of someone s image alongside influential hashtags, likes and comments. This could make someone feel that they need to copy this post in order to receive the same level of attention. Remind the group that it is important to be yourself online and not feel like we have to all be the same. Difference is a wonderful thing and it should be celebrated.
6 February 2018 Lesson Plan Target audience: 11-14 year olds Plenary Creating more positive online connections (Discussion) This lesson has been about looking at the influence of others online and the pressure they can have on us. However, the content we share and the choices we make online are just as important. Begin by asking young people to share how they make use of the different functions of social media etc. Some examples to discuss would be how they make use of; - Sharing images What do they share? - Posting comments What would they post a comment on? - Direct messages Who would they direct message? - Hashtags How do they choose a hashtag? - Filters When and why would they use a filter? - Live Why would they choose to livestream? Explain that we all have different ways of using social media but one thing we should all try and do is to help create more positive online connections and share respect online. As a group discuss examples of positive connections being made online and people sharing respect. Some examples might be; - Using hashtags to raise awareness - e.g. #givingtuesday helped PayPal to raise 31.5 million in one day for different charities - Using online challenges to spread positivity e.g. 100 day photo challenge encouraged people to share positive content online - Using social media and blogs to connect with people in similar situations and share experiences e.g. sites like Netmums or Facebook groups which bring together likeminded people Ask them to discuss in pairs how they can create more positive connections online and share respect. Feedback as a group and consider how we could all implement these ideas into our everyday lives. Remind young people what they can do if anything ever worries or upsets them online; Report any content you are concerned about to the networks /safety-tools Ask friends to remove content which makes you feel uncomfortable Talk to an adult you trust Contact ChildLine on 0800 11 11 or www.childline.org.uk Visit youngminds.org.uk for support on mental health and wellbeing. Suggested extension activities 1. Get young people to complete a 7 day digital detox challenge (Appendix 4) to see if they can improve on their quiz score and make themselves less reliant on the digital world. 2. Create a decision tree (see Appendix 5 for example) for handling digital dilemmas and giving advice to their peers. Ask them to consider online influence and pressures young people may be faced with and how they can overcome this.
Appendix 1 Quiz Task: Complete the quiz to see how much the online world influences you. 1. You keep seeing an advert appear on your social media for the latest trainers and everyone is posting pictures wearing them, what do you do? You immediately go and buy them so you have the same. (4) Perhaps next time you need a pair of new trainers you will buy them, but not now. (2) You re not bothered that everyone has them. (1) You feel sad or annoyed that you don t have them. (3) 2. The internet is telling you one thing but your friend says it s wrong and gives you another answer, who do you believe? Your friend must be mistaken so you tell them the right answer you found online. (3) Check with your friend how they know the answer is right, and if it sounds like they have experience or have learnt it before, then you ll believe them. (2) Clearly your friend hasn t done their research, so you d probably not ask them for help again. (4) You want to check some other websites and perhaps ask some other friends to be sure. (1) 3. The latest social media challenge involves taking some quite big risks. All your friends have taken part and now they have tagged you. What do you do? You take part, if everyone else is then it must be fine. (3) You ignore the tag and not feel like you have to take art. (1) You ignore the tag for a little while but then feel like you have to do it as everyone else is joining in. (2) You immediately complete the challenge because it s something you were tagged in so you have to. (4) 4. You notice that all your friends pictures have been looking amazing recently. One of them tells you about a new editing filter everyone is using. What do you do? You start using the filter to look as good as your friends. (4) You don t care that everyone s pictures look great now you know it s all down to a filter. (1) You worry your pictures don t look as good, and feel as if you d need to use the filter in order to look as good. (2) You try to avoid using the filter for as long as you can, but you know you ll end up using it. (3) 5. You ve received a mean comment on your latest post making fun of your hair. What do you do? You feel upset by the comment but try to ignore it. (2) You feel the need to change the style of pictures you post so you don t get any more comments like this. (3) You think the person was probably just making a joke and laugh it off. (1) You change your hair completely after someone posted a mean comment about it. (4) 6. You post a picture and after an hour it s received no likes or comments, even though there are lots of people online. What do you do? You delete the picture straight away and post a different one instead. (4) You don t care if no one has liked it yet as it s just a picture. (1) You message all your friends and ask them to comment on, and like, the picture. (3) You start to feel quite sad and worried about why no one has liked it yet. (2)
Appendix 1 Quiz Task: Complete the quiz to see how much the online world influences you. 7. You have significantly fewer followers than your other friends, how do you feel? You feel like they are more liked by others and have more friends. (2) You feel like you need to get more friends as quickly as possible by following lots of people and accepting any requests. (4) You don t care how many followers you have compared to other people as you only follow certain people on social media. (1) You try to ignore it but will probably end up accepting any requests you receive. (3) 8. You ve seen that all the online vloggers are talking about the latest trend of having really defined cheek bones. How do you feel about your body? You enjoy watching the videos but don t really care if you look like the people or not. (1) You try anything to look like these people and want to make changes to your body. (4) You feel like you aren t good enough because you don t look like this. (3) You feel great because you have defined cheek bones so you must be on trend. (2) 8-13 points #HappyAsIAm It seems the internet doesn t have much of an impact on how you feel and the choices you make, which is great. It can be really difficult to engage with the likes of social media and not let it affect you. Try to think how you can help others to feel the same! 14-19 points #ItChangesHowIFeel It can be really difficult to engage with the likes of social media and not let it affect you. Often seeing the pictures other people post, and the amount of likes and followers they have, can leave us comparing ourselves. Remember we all use social media differently and just because one person has more likes than another it doesn t mean they are any better. Try talking to your friends or a trusted adult if you ever feel worried or upset about your life online. 20-25 points #IEndUpChanging It s very easy to feel influenced by the images we see online and the pressure to receive more likes and followers. Try to be yourself online and share posts which make you happy. If you don t want to change something about yourself or what you post then you shouldn t have to. Try talking to your friends or a trusted adult if you are feeling pressured to change online. 26-32 points #I dchangeanything There is an enormous amount of pressure on us all to fit in these days and gain more followers or likes. This pressure can often influence us into making changes to ourselves or our lives. Some of these changes can be positive, such as making a healthy food choice, but some can be more negative. Try talking to your friends or a trusted adult before making any drastic changes, or if you ever feel worried or upset about your life online.
Appendix 2 Under Pressure Task: In the boxes write down 4 other pressures someone might feel online. Then in the speech bubbles give your response to this pressure and offer advice. Pressure to get more likes Pressure to filter your images Pressure to have accounts Only join the accounts you want to and deactivate old accounts!
Appendix 3 Digital Dilemma Scenarios Childnet 2017 What pressure is this person facing? Childnet 2017 What pressure is this person facing? What could they do next? What could they do next? Engin_Akyurt licensed under CCO Childnet 2017 StockSnaphttps://pixabay.com/en/beach-girls-relax-sunshine-455752/ licensed under CCO Childnet 2017 Sturti licenced under istock standard licence What pressure is this person facing? jifreire3 licensed by CCO What pressure is this person facing? What could they do next? What could they do next?
Appendix 4 7 Day Digital Detox Challenge 7 DAY DIGITAL DETOX CHALLENGE Day 1 Go through your friends lists and unfollow accounts you don t want to follow anymore Day 2 Go social media free after dinner Day 3 Only watch 3 videos anywhere online today Day 4 Only spend a maximum of 30 minutes on social media all day Day 5 Don t check your messages or social media until after 10am Day 6 Put your phone away at meal times all day Day 7 Try not to post anything today! How did it make you feel? Would you try to make any of the challenges part of your everyday life? Why?
Appendix 5 Decision tree example Should you be going to bed? Yes No Go get some sleep! Have I already watched more than 3 episodes today? Yes No Save some for another day! Have you already finished everything you needed to do today? Yes No You d better get started!!! Will you still be able to watch it tomorrow? Yes No Maybe save it! Quick!!! Go watch another episode Childnet