HAZLETON AREA HIGH SCHOOL

Internet Safety9th-12th Grade

Differentiate

correlations between cyber and physical communities.

Identify

school policies applicable to cyber and physical bullying

(HASD Policy 248 & 249).

Identify Patterns

between Issues related to cyber bullying and cyber ethics.

Investigate

how personal information may be collected by websites.

ObjectivesAll students will be able to:

Many different types of online interactions occur between people who don’t know each other in an

offline setting.

These interactions are sometimes positive, and at other times they can make us feel uncomfortable.

On-line Interaction with Others

What are some examples of positive interactions between strangers online?

What are some examples of uncomfortable interactions between strangers online?

• There are many different kinds of online encounters with strangers that may make us feel uncomfortable.

• Some are harmless and easy to laugh off or forget about.

• Other encounters might affect us, or our friends, more seriously.

On-line Interaction with Others

Online Predator: Someone who uses the Internet to lure innocent individuals into dangerous situations.

• What are some common stereotypes of online predators?

• Many times, predators pretend to be kids online as they attempt to convince other kids to do things that they do not wish to do.

• They will attempt to gain kids’ trust and lure them to offline meeting places

On-line Interaction with Others

THE TRUTH IS……

• Teens are more likely to receive requests to talk about sexual things online, from other teens or from young adults (ages 18 to 25) than they are from older adults.

• The small percentage of adults that do seek out relationships with teens online are usually up-front about their age (and about their sexual interests).

• Teens who develop an ongoing, online connection with someone they do not know, or who are willing to talk about sexual things online, are more likely to find themselves in a risky online relationship.

• Risky online relationships don’t always involve total strangers; sometimes they involve people teens have initially met offline.

On-line Interaction with Others

• Certain conversations that take place online may seem exciting and/or flattering, but they also have the potential to be upsetting or may, in fact, become mentally abusive.

• Know that people may in fact say or do things online that they would neither say nor do in person.

• Know that many may feel used, uncomfortable, or even violated while chatting with people online – whether it’s with someone their own age or with someone who is older.

• In fact, it is important to know that people closer to your, in terms of age, are more likely to coax you into uncomfortable situations online or ask you to talk about inappropriate things.

On-line Interaction with Others

Why might it be tricky for people to recognize when they are being manipulated, especially online?

1. Some people may try to manipulate you by pretending to be your friend, or they may attempt to make you

feel understood and valued.

2. Manipulation involves telling you things you want to hear, and gradually winning your trust before

trying to control you.

On-line Interaction with Others

Change it up.

If something feels like it might be getting risky, it probably is. But if you’re not sure, try changing the subject, making a joke, or saying you want to talk about something else. If you still feel pressured by or uncomfortable with the situation, you need to take further action.

Log off or quit.

You need to remember that at any time you can just stop typing and log off if a conversation gets uncomfortable online. You can also take action to block or report another user, or create a new account – whether for email, IM, or a virtual world – to avoid contact with that person again.

Know that it’s okay to feel embarrassed or confused.

It’s not always easy to make sense of situations that make you uncomfortable online. Nor is it easy to ask for help if you feel embarrassed about what you’ve experienced. These feelings are normal, and it’s okay to talk about them.

On-line Interaction with Others

• Ricardo’s Story- Making Fun of Others On-line

• http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/lesson/turn-down-dial-cyberbullying-and-online-cruelty-9-10

Cyber-bullying Awareness

-Do you think Ricardo is a cyber bully? Why or why not?

-What does Ricardo mean when he says that “ information gets around really quick”?

Have you ever encountered online cruelty? How do you think someone might feel after being the target of it?

• Stacey’s Story- When Rumors Escalate

• http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/lesson/turn-down-dial-cyberbullying-and-online-cruelty-9-10

Cyber-bullying Awareness

-Who was involved in the story and what roles did they play? Who was the target? Who were the offenders? Were there bystanders and/or upstanders?

-How do you think the online cruelty might be different from offline behavior?

-What do you think you might have done if you were Stacey? What could you have done if you wanted to be an upstander in this situation?

When you are the Target of cyber bullying, attempt to do the following:

Ignore and/or block the bully.

Change your privacy

settings. 

Save the evidence.

Tell trusted friends and

adults.

Cyber-bullying Awareness

• What are some roles that different people play in cyber-bullying situations, and how would you describe each one?

• Target: The object of the online cruelty

• Offender: The person who tries to hurt or harass the target

• Bystander: A person who does nothing when they see something happening

• Upstander: A person who supports and stands up for someone else

Cyber-bullying Awareness

• Why is it important to be an upstander rather than a bystander?

Cyber-bullying Awareness

Bystanders are effectively allowing the target to be hurt and degraded by others; upstanders take whatever action they can to stop this unacceptable behavior.

• In a few cases, led to teen suicides, attempted suicides, or teens stating that they want to take their lives.

• ABC News, “Cruel Kids, Tragic Ends” http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/video?id=2443795

Cyber-bullying Awareness

• How can up-standers help those who face online cruelty? How can they help defuse online cruelty before it escalates?

Cyber-bullying Awareness

• What should you think about before you post anything about another person online, in an instant message, text, or any other kind of digital message?

• Someone posts a picture of your friend with some nasty comments, and other kids make fun of him or her.  What would a bystander do in this situation? What would an upstander do? What would you do?

• Aside from a target, who else can be impacted by online cruelty? Who else could be involved, implicitly or explicitly?

Cyber-bullying Awareness

Online cruelty can affect family, friends, significant others, teachers, as well as the dynamic of groups within and outside of schools, like sports teams, neighborhoods,

etc.

Hazleton Area School District’s Bullying Policy / Policy 248- Unlawful Harassment

For purposes of this policy, harassment shall consist of verbal, written, graphic or physical conduct relating to an individual's race, color, national origin/ethnicity, sex, age, disability, sexual

orientation or religion when such conduct: 1. Is sufficiently severe, persistent or pervasive that it affects an individual's ability to participate in or benefit from an educational program or activity or creates an intimidating, threatening or abusive educational environment.

2. Has the purpose or effect of substantially or unreasonably interfering with an individual's academic performance.

3. Otherwise adversely affects an individual's learning opportunities.

• Bullying means an intentional electronic, written, verbal or physical act or series of acts directed at

another student or students, which occurs in a school setting, that is severe, persistent or pervasive and

has the effect of doing any of the following:

1. Substantial interference with a student’s education.

2. Creation of a threatening environment.

3. Substantial disruption of the orderly operation of the school.

Hazleton Area School District’s Bullying Policy / Policy 249:Anti-Bullying

• What kinds of information about yourself do you share online?

• What else do you do online that reflects who you are?

Personal Information

When you input information onto a website – such as profile information or search terms – you are forfeiting your privacy to that website.

Companies and/or organizations running these sites will keep tack of the data you submit. In turn, these companies use the specific information entered to target students with specific content, especially advertising related to their interests.

• One of the first companies to track and target users online was Amazon.com. It created technology that could match people’s preferences with other users whose buying habits were like their own, and make recommendations on that basis.

• Other companies, such as Netflix (which offers movies that you can order by DVD or stream online) and Pandora (which allows you to rate music in real time), have a similar model: Based on your choices, they try to determine your tastes. Then they recommend products that reflect those tastes.

Personal Information

• Do not provide email addresses to mailing lists unless you need to do so.

• Unsubscribe from servers or websites that you do not regularly use.

• Limit the number of times you click on ads, no matter what they are for.

• Avoid “too good to be true” products, deals, and opportunities. Once you have confirmed your email address, they are likely to sell your email address to other companies.

• Make sure you have antivirus software, and that it also protects against spyware, programs that secretly collect your data.

Personal Information

• Disable Internet “cookies,” so that companies cannot put tracking devices on your computer. (Sites will not be able to remember your preferences as well this way, which is something to consider.)

• Investigate computer applications that block pop-up ads.

• Examine sites’ privacy policies before you reveal any information on the site; avoid using sites that will share your data with others.

Personal Information

•www.commonsensemedia.org

Resources