Keeping Safe and Healthy in the Digital World

Know about harmful online content.

Definition – anything that can be seen/read or heard online which is upsetting to people who come across it

Content can be harmful because it shows violence, is racist or hateful to another group such as gay people, disabled people or women.

It may be harmful because it encourages people to do something violent or hateful to others, or to hurt themselves.

Content that encourages people to believe something is true when it is not can also be harmful

People often come across harmful content by accident – e.g. if it comes up in an internet search or a spam email, or if someone you follow re-posts it.

Harmful content might come in the form of a video, images, posts, articles. 

Assessment Criteria

• 1.1

  State what is meant by ‘harmful online content’.

• 1.2

  Recognise examples of different types of harmful online content.

Know about harmful online interactions. 

Online abuse is causing distress, offence or harm to other people in an online setting.

People behave in harmful ways online and off-line, e.g. bullying, tricking or taking advantage of people all happens on and offline. The online versions of these unpleasant behaviours sometimes have a different name – like cyberbullying rather than bullying. You can be more vulnerable to abuse online because it is not always clear who you are engaging with or because some people feel freer to be rude or hurtful online than face-to-face.

Abuse can take place in a range of different online environments including:

• Social media
• Text messages and apps
• Emails
• Online chats
• Online gaming
• Live-streaming and video sites

Online peer-on-peer abuse is harmful treatment of a person by people they know/are familiar with, such as fellow students, workmates, people they went to school /college with, neighbours, particularly those of a similar age.

The most common forms of online peer-on-peer abuse are often described as cyberbullying. Cyberbullying can include

• online name-calling and insulting comments
• threats
• coercion
• deliberate sharing of someone’s personal information or images (e.g. with sexualised content)
• deliberately leaving someone out and/or encouraging others to ignore them
• ‘griefing’ – intentionally attempting to spoil someone’s enjoyment of an online game, e.g. by repeatedly killing their character

Peers can sometimes exploit one another – see below.

Exploitation is the act of manipulating or coercing someone into doing something that benefits the exploiter

Online exploitation might be sexual (persuading people to perform sexual acts or share sexual images), financial (tricking people out of their money), or criminal (getting people to commit criminal acts, e.g. gangs getting people to sell drugs; extremists getting people to help in bomb-making). Extremists can also use exploitation to radicalise people by persuading them to think a certain way.

One of the key online methods used by those who are exploiting others is grooming. Online grooming is building a relationship or connection with someone so that you can manipulate or exploit them.

Online groomers sometimes hide their real identity and pretend to be someone that their target might be more likely to trust or befriend. The groomer can pretend to be a friend, a potential romantic/sexual partner or an adviser/mentor. They might give their target gifts or attention or find other ways to make them feel special. They do this to win trust and make it easier to get what they want from their targets – whether that is sex, money or being involved in criminal acts.

Over time the relationship can change so that the target begins to feel uncomfortable, anxious or scared; people who have been groomed often end up feeling that they are being controlled. 

Assessment Criteria

• 2.1

  State what is meant by ‘online abuse’.

• 2.2

  Identify ways that peers can act harmfully towards each other online. 

• 2.3

  Identify ways that people can be exploited by others online.

Know about protecting self from online risks.

General warning signs – online contacts

• Asking you not to tell/share info about your online conversations
• Making you feel uncomfortable/afraid/anxious
• Talking about subjects you feel uncomfortable with
• Asking you to do things you think may be illegal or hurtful to others
• Being over-friendly
• Offering gifts - such as weapons, coins or cheats within a gaming environment

Warning signs of sexual exploitation – online contacts

• Asking you to perform sexual acts on a webcam
• Asking you to share intimate pictures of yourself

Warning signs for fake identity – online contacts

• Never sharing selfies or uses own webcam
• Not known by any of your friends
• Using same few pictures on all their social media accounts

Warning signs of financial exploitation/scams - online contacts

• Asking you to lend/give them money
• Asks for your bank details, particularly online banking passwords, passcodes or PIN numbers, card info,
• Emails or messages from unknown or untrusted senders that contain links you are asked to click on

Warning signs of radicalisation/exploitation by gangs – online contacts

• Asking you to deliver, look after or buy on their behalf unknown items or items of concern (e.g. weapons, chemicals, cash)

Ways to keep safe online

• Avoid sharing with anyone images/information that others could use against them (e.g. sexting). This includes sharing with people they currently trust who may deliberately or accidentally share more widely images intended only for them
• Set privacy controls high
• Keep passwords, passcodes and PINs private and vary them across apps/accounts
• Watch out for warning signs (see above) that they may be at risk.

Assessment Criteria

• 3.1

  Recognise key signs that they may be at risk online.

• 3.2

  Identify ways to keep safe online.

Know how to respond to harmful online content or activity.

Ways to report

• Tell a trusted/responsible person; if in a school, college, club, inform a responsible person within this setting particularly where peer-on-peer abuse is involved, in the same way as for offline bullying
• Use reporting function within the social media site or app
• Contact police if someone’s life is in immediate danger
• Appropriate ways to react in addition to reporting
• Avoid making insulting responses if you receive upsetting comments
• Delete any of your own posts that may have caused upset in the first place
• Block, mute or unfollow anyone posting abusive comments
• Seek advice or support from a trusted/responsible person or service, including from reputable websites such as Childline, GetSafeOnLine.

Assessment Criteria

• 4.1

  State how to report anything online that is offensive or upsetting. 

• 4.2

  State how to react to online abuse.

Know how to maintain own mental wellbeing (as an internet user).

Positive use of the internet includes:

• connecting with, commenting on and discussing things with others
• finding, sharing or creating interesting content (blogs, vlogs, videos, posts)
• joining or following interest groups
• finding out about topics of interest
• finding information relevant to study/work
• gaming with other people.

People can benefit from online activity, e.g.

• Accessing information so they are better informed
• Learning new skills – like a language or how to edit a video-clip
• Building and maintaining positive and supportive relationships
• Feeling connected with and valued by other people, including when it may be difficult to meet in person - e.g. with family members abroad; because getting out is difficult – disability/old age; with people who share a very specific interest, characteristic, circumstance (e.g. other people who were adopted/came originally from Armenia)
• Getting increased enjoyment from gaming with multiple players

Negative aspects of going online

• Viewing other people’s social media (friends and celebrities) can make some individuals feel inadequate or unhappy. This can affect their self-esteem and self-confidence as they feel their lives are not as exciting or happy or they are not as popular or attractive.
• Some people find it difficult to switch off from online content. They may continue to keep looking at posts, comments or sites that make them unhappy. If they are being bullied they may feel that they can never get away from the bullies. They may feel they have no space to relax and just ‘be themselves’
• Some people only feel valued if they have lots of followers/online friends or if their posts including pictures of themselves get lots of likes. They feel unhappy when this is not the case.
• Some people only post a happy or successful version of themselves online. If they are actually unhappy or struggling in some way, their friends may not know and therefore do not offer support.
• Some people spend so much of their time online, they do not connect with people face-to-face and therefore lose out on actual physical contact with friends/family.

Maintaining own wellbeing might involve

• limiting own time online
• avoiding sites/apps where they know they are more likely to encounter harmful content or abuse
• avoiding getting into unpleasant online exchanges with others
• spending time offline with people and/or doing things that make them feel happy/positive
• discussing with trusted people things that happen online that worry or upset them
• reminding themselves that what people post online is not always truthful or an actual picture of their lives/how they look or feel.

Assessment Criteria

• 5.1

  Identify positive and negative aspects of going online.

• 5.2

  Identify ways to maintain own wellbeing as an internet user.