Posts tagged cyberbullying

the hurt square - levels of hurt and intention behind online statements

The Hurt Square

490 days
by in 8th grade, Digital Identity

While Jac is in Central Washington with the 7th grade, 8th grade students are delving deeper into the intersection between data permanence, social networks, friendship and privacy.  The work they are doing is an adaptation of a lesson created by Common Sense Media, a non-profit focused on educating students, parents and teachers about the reality of digital identity.

Students examined a series of scenarios that happen everyday online between teens.  They then rated the experiences based on the level of hurtfulness or embarrassment that would be caused and the level of intention behind the action.

You may be posting something that you think is funny or harmless, but others involved might not see your comments or media in the same light as you.  Who gets to decide how painful something is – the insulter or the person feeling hurt?

You don’t always know how someone will take a joke or statement online.  Don’t just think would this offend me? but consider could this hurt the person I’m referring to?

Students captured their responses in a ‘hurt square’, a graphing tool that illustrates the relative pain/intentionality of a situation:

the hurt square - levels of hurt and intention behind online statements

Here is a list of the scenarios that students assessed:

#1: Your long-time buddy from 1st grade just posted a hilarious photo of the two of you when you were only 6 years old.  You are both completely naked, running through a garden sprinkler with cowboy hats on.

#2: A classmate that you don’t talk to often just posted a list of “the 5 dumbest things you said today.”

#3: A friend from another school just posted a photo of you with the caption “Sooooo hot! I’d tap that.”

#4: A cabin mate from Camp Colman just posted a photo of you asleep with someone else’s underwear on your pillow.

#5: A buddy has a wall post about how cute you and your crush are.  Problem is, they are online buddies with their Mom, who knows your Mom, and your Mom isn’t cool with you dating in 8th grade.

#6: You made a YouTube video for a school project.  Someone anonymously commented “that’s so gay!”

#7: A bunch of teammates created a page called “you shouldn’t start for our team because you suck at sports” and then forwarded it to you.

#8: Someone took a photo of you from a school trip and drew boogers and a mustache on it, then posted it.

#9: A friend sent you a private message online that starts by calling you a racial slur for a different race than yours.

Is technology good or bad?

496 days
by in 8th grade, Digital Identity

8th grade students examined 2 technology stories, both out of England.

Story #1: Segway owner dies after falling off a cliff

The owner of a company that makes Segway scooters was riding a prototype near his home and fell off a cliff.  There are actually quite a few cases of people being injured by this technology – so is it good or bad?  After much heated debate, the group came to the decision that it is people and their intentions that project good or bad onto an object.

As Abbey points out, “A rock can’t be good or bad, a rock just is. It’s how someone uses a rock that gives it value.”

Isaac held out with the belief that, while the above is true, there are some objects, such as a nuclear bomb, that are made with the sole purpose of destruction. Therefore, the object itself is bad because it can’t be anything else.

Story #2: Girl, 14, fears 21,000 party guests after Facebook invite blunder

An English girl tried to invite 15 friends to her birthday party using Facebook.  When creating the event, she included her cell phone number and addresses.  Her invite security settings were not set correctly, and she ended up with thousands of people from all over the world RSVPing to the party.  She has had to change her cell phone number and the police are stepping up patrols in the 3,000 person town in which she lives.

Where does the fault lie in this story? 8th graders recognized quickly that Facebook isn’t good or bad, it is it’s use & misuse that cause troubles such as these.  Should everyone have access to all technology? Who should monitor whether a 16 year old can drive a car? Should the government make you pass an reflex test to get a Segway? Should parents have to approve all content a minor posts online?

Lots of great conversation but no clear answers. We’ll continue these discussions in coming weeks and relate privacy settings and responsibility to our own digital lives. Stay tuned for more insights…

7th grade breaks down cyberbullying

601 days
by in 7th Grade, Digital Identity

In preparation for a summer of greatness, 7th grade tech students spent the last class of the year defining cyberbullying – types and solutions.  This unit ties in with a larger advisory curriculum strand on intentional communities and mutual respect.

We watched “Odd Girl Out“, a movie based on Rachel Simmon’s book of the same title.  We analyzed the different ways in which the main character, Vanessa, was victimized using technology (cell phones, cameras, chat, website):

  • posing – someone pretends to be you and says things to your friends that are hurtful or untrue
  • excluding – creating online communities based on leaving someone out
  • outing – sharing someones secrets…especially easy if those secrets are already typed up on caught on camera
  • flaming – saying horrible things about someone or their work, with a disproportionate amount of hate involved. Often cloaked in anonymity
  • bashing – a group of people ganging up on an individual, anonymous or not, to break down self-esteem

Students were divided on which of these types of cyberbullying would be most harmful, but we all agreed that when you add a few types together, it can really ruin someone’s life.

We agreed that the main character in “Odd Girl Out” would have had a tough time reporting bullying because it would have been embarrassing and would have made school difficult to face.  We decided that the pain an awkwardness of getting help would have been a better solution than the path she chose (hiding her pain and protecting the bullies).

Students ended by reminding each other that Facebook gives you the ability to block people and also to report bullying to the company.  With cell phones, you can block a phone number or forward a message to a parent or trusted adult.

Go to Top